Word stem

In linguistics, a word stem is a word part responsible for a word's lexical meaning. The term is used with slightly different meanings depending on the morphology of the language in question. For instance, in Athabaskan linguistics, a verb stem is a root that cannot appear on its own and that carries the tone of the word.

Typically, a stem remains unmodified during inflection with few exceptions due to apophony (for example in Polish, miast-o ("city") and w mieść-e ("in the city"); in English, sing, sang, and sung, where it can be modified according to morphological rules or peculiarities, such as sandhi).

Word stem comparisons across languages have helped reveal cognates that have allowed comparative linguists to determine language families and their history.^[1]

^ Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Indo-European Roots Appendix, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

[AHD_IndoEuropRoots-1] Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Indo-European Roots Appendix, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

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