Lexeme facts for kids
A lexeme is a special word in linguistics, which is the study of language. Think of a lexeme as a basic unit of meaning. It's like the main idea behind a word, no matter how it changes its form. For example, "run," "runs," "ran," and "running" are all different forms, but they all come from the same main idea or lexeme.
What is a Lexeme?
A lexeme is a fundamental unit of a language's vocabulary. It represents a core meaning that stays the same even when a word changes its endings. For instance, the word "cat" is a lexeme. Even if you say "cats," it's still the same basic idea of a feline animal.
Lexemes can also be phrases. The phrase "come in" is a lexeme because it has a single, clear meaning. Another example is the idiom "raining cats and dogs," which means it's raining very heavily. This whole phrase acts as one unit of meaning, so it's also a lexeme.
Lexemes in Action
Let's look at the word "run." You can say:
- "I run every day."
- "She runs fast."
- "He ran yesterday."
- "They are running now."
All these words (run, runs, ran, running) share the same core meaning of moving quickly on foot. Because they share this core meaning, they are considered different forms of the same lexeme. In linguistics, this main lexeme is often shown in capital letters, like RUN.
Lexemes in Dictionaries
When you look up words in a dictionary, you are usually looking up lexemes. The main word you see at the top of a dictionary entry is called a lemma. A lemma is the chosen form that represents a whole lexeme.
For example, in a dictionary, you would find "run" as the main entry. This "run" is the lemma for the lexeme RUN. Underneath it, the dictionary might list other forms like "runs," "ran," and "running." So, all the main words you find in a dictionary are lexemes.
The collection of all lexemes in a language is called a lexicon. It's like the complete list of all the basic meaning units in a language. Large English dictionaries contain hundreds of thousands of lexemes, but the actual number used in everyday language is probably much higher!
