What is sememe?

Status
Not open for further replies.

Untaught88

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2015
Member Type
Student or Learner
Native Language
Urdu
Home Country
Pakistan
Current Location
Pakistan
Hi,

"Faithful" is a lexeme, right?
What is a sememe, please? Is "faith" a sememe?
 
As a linguist,l would consider a sememe the smallest unit of meaning. Very similar to a morpheme. For example, the -er in singer would be a sememe pointing to someone performing the action of singing. Sing- is another instance of a sememe in this sense.
 
P.S. And yes, "faith" would also be a sememe in this sense.
 
Let me add an "afterthought" to my previous replies. This is made in order to clarify how "lexeme" and "sememe" interact/relate as concepts.
Yes, "faithful" is a lexeme consisting of the two sememes "faith-" and "-ful".
Hope this helps.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Ask a Teacher

If you have a question about the English language and would like to ask one of our many English teachers and language experts, please click the button below to let us know:

(Requires Registration)
Back
Top