What is a word?

Definition
	A word is a unit which is a constituent at the phrase level and above. It is sometimes identifiable according to such criteria as
	being the minimal possible unit in a reply having features such as a regular stress pattern, and phonological changes conditioned by or blocked at word boundaries being the largest unit resistant to insertion of new constituents within its boundaries, or being the smallest constituent that can be moved within a sentence without making the sentence ungrammatical.
	A word is sometimes placed, in a hierarchy of grammatical constituents, above the morpheme level and below the phrase level.

Kinds
	Here are some kinds of words:
	What is an adjective? What is an adposition? What is an adverb? (Linguistics) What is a classifier? What is a conjunction? What is a determiner? What is a dummy word? What is an emphasis marker? What is an exclamative? What is an existential marker? What is a fossilized term? What is an honorific? What is an ideophone? What is an interjection? What is a particle? What is a pro-form? What is a substantive? What is a verb? (Linguistics) What is a clitic? (Grammar)

Generic
	A word is a kind of
	What is a construction?

Sources
	Hartmann and Stork 1972 256
	Crystal 1980 168, 383–384
	Cruse 1986 35–36
	Mish 1991 1358
	Pike and Pike 1982 462

Context for this page:

Concept module: word
In overview module: Glossary (Linguistics): W
In modular book: Glossary of linguistic terms, by Eugene E. Loos (general editor), Susan Anderson (editor), Dwight H., Day, Jr. (editor), Paul C. Jordan (editor), and J. Douglas Wingate (editor)
In bookshelf: Linguistics

This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library, Version 5.0 published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 2003. [Ordering information.]

Page content last modified: 5 January 2004

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