deep structure

noun Linguistics.

(in transformational-generative grammar) the underlying semantic or syntactic representation of a sentence, from which the surface structure may be derived.

Compare surface structure.

Origin of deep structure

An Americanism dating back to 1960–65

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for deep structure

deep structure

noun

generative grammar a representation of a sentence at a level where logical or grammatical relations are made explicit, before transformational rules have been appliedCompare surface structure

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