Root is a morpheme which is the basic part of a word and which may, in many languages, occur on its own (e.g. man, hold, cold, rhythm). A root is a form which is not further analysable, either in terms of derivational or iflectional affix.
Roots may be joined to other roots (e.g.
house + hold → household) and/or take affixes (e.g.
manly, coldness).
Stem is the part of a word to which an inflectional affix is or can be added. A stem is of concern only with inflectional affixes. For example, in English the inflectional affix -s can be added to the stem work to form the plural works in the works of Shakespeare. The stem of a word may be:
- a simple stem consisting of only one morpheme (root), e.g.
work- a root plus a derivational affix, e.g.
work +-er = worker- two or more roots, e.g.
work + shop = workshop.Thus we can have
work + -s = works, (work + -er) = workers, or (work + shop) + -s = workshops.
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