suppletion

American  

[suh-plee-shuhn] / səˈpli ʃən /

noun

Grammar.

1. the use in inflection or derivation of an allomorph that is not related in form to the primary allomorph of a morpheme, as the use of better as the comparative of good.

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suppletion British  

/ səˈpliːʃən /

noun

1. the use of an unrelated word to complete the otherwise defective paradigm of a given word, as for example the use of went for the past tense of go

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Other Word Forms

• suppletive noun

Etymology

Origin of suppletion

1275–1325; Middle English: supplementation, supplement < Medieval Latin supplētiōn- (stem of supplētiō ) a filling up, equivalent to supplēt ( us ), past participle of supplēre to make complete, ( sup- sup- + plē-, stem of plēre to fill ( full ¹ ) + -tus past participle suffix) + -iōn- -ion