A root — also called a stem — is the irreducible part of a word, typically carrying the basic meaning. It cannot be further divided into smaller meaningful elements. When affixes (prefixes, suffixes, or infixes) are added to a root, new related words are formed.

The concept of the root is central to the study of word formation (morphology) and historical linguistics. Comparison of roots across different languages reveals family relationships between languages and allows reconstruction of earlier, unwritten languages.

Root and stem

A distinction is made between root and stem. The root is the most basic unit; the stem is the form to which derivational affixes are added before grammatical markers such as number, gender, or tense are attached. A single word may contain one root, but compound words may contain two or more.

Triconsonantal roots in Semitic languages

Semitic languages — such as Arabic and Hebrew — have a distinctive system in which roots typically consist of three consonants. Vowels and other modifications are interspersed within this root to produce different words sharing a related meaning. This is known as nonconcatenative morphology.

Dictionary organization

Many dictionaries, particularly those of Semitic languages, organize words by root: words sharing the same root are grouped in one place. Dictionaries of other languages, such as English, more commonly arrange entries according to the dictionary form of the word rather than by root.

NoteThe Somali word masdar and its Arabic equivalent are sometimes used to mean verbal noun or infinitive, which is not the same as root. Here the term refers to the general linguistic sense of root. Usage in Somali linguistic sources varies.

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