morpheme

A morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning in a language. It is a building block of words that cannot be divided further without losing its meaning. For example, in the word "unhappiness," there are three morphemes: "un-" (meaning "not"), "happy" (a root word), and "-ness" (indicating a state or condition). Morphemes help us understand how words are constructed and how they relate to meaning. They can be whole words or parts of words that contribute to their overall significance.