emic

American

[ee-mik] / ˈi mɪk /

adjective

Linguistics.

pertaining to or being a significant unit that functions in contrast with other units in a language or other system of behavior.

First recorded in 1950–55; extracted from phonemic; coined by U.S. linguist Kenneth L. Pike (1912–2000)

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023