glosseme

[ glos-eem, glaw-seem ]

/ ˈglɒs im, ˈglɔ sim /

noun Linguistics.

(in glossematics) an irreducible, invariant form, as a morpheme or tagmeme, that functions as the smallest meaningful unit of linguistic signaling.

Nearby words

glossary, glossator, glossatorial, glossectomy, glossematics, glosseme, glosser, glossimeter, glossina, glossitic, glossitis

Origin of glosseme

First recorded in 1925–30; gloss- + -eme

Related formsglos·se·mic, adjective

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

British Dictionary definitions for glosseme

glosseme

/ (ˈɡlɒsiːm) /

noun

the smallest meaningful unit of a language, such as stress, form, etc

Word Origin for glosseme

C20: from Greek glōssēma; see gloss ², -eme

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012