What is the study of words how they are formed and their relationship to other words in the same language?

Linguistics is the systematic study of the structure and evolution of human language, and it is applicable to every aspect of human endeavor.

Did You Know?

The Linguistic Society of America observes that linguistics is a field of science that is almost 3,000 years old. Modern linguists primarily concern themselves with either theoretical or applied linguistics. Their research includes many facets of language and language structure, which can be studied at various levels.

The discipline of linguistics focuses on theories of language structure, variation and use, the description and documentation of contemporary languages, and the implications of theories of language for an understanding of the mind and brain, human culture, social behavior, and language learning and teaching.

Phonology and phonetics — the study of the sound systems of languages — deals with the basic utterances in speech. It can be investigated by observing which physical properties of the vocal tract (including the lips and tongue) are used to form distinct linguistic sounds to convey information. Morphology and syntax are concerned with the study of the internal structure of words and sentences. Apart from the study of the sound systems of languages and word and sentence structure, linguists seek to specify the meaning behind words and combinations of words. This investigation is known as semantics. Semanticists also compare the meanings of these combinations when they interact with contextual information, a subfield known as pragmatics. 

Linguists investigate how people acquire their knowledge about language, how this knowledge interacts with other cognitive processes, how it varies across speakers and geographic regions, and how to model this knowledge computationally. They study how to represent the structure of the various aspects of language (such as sounds or meaning), how to account for different linguistic patterns theoretically, and how the different components of language interact with each other. Many linguists collect empirical evidence to help them gain insight into a specific language or languages in general. They may conduct research by interacting with children and adults in schools, in the field, and in university labs.

Because of the pervasive influence of language in our everyday lives, work in linguistics interacts in important ways with studies carried out in many other fields, including psychology, anthropology, neuroscience, law, philosophy, computer science, communication, and education. Majors in linguistics find practical outlets for their linguistic training in the computer industry, law and forensics, teaching foreign languages and English as a second language, translation and interpretation, speech pathology, lexicography, and policy-making in government and education. All these fields of employment share an interest in people with highly developed skills in the analysis and use of spoken or written language. The major in linguistics equips students with just such skills.

1

a

: a branch of biology that deals with the form and structure of animals and plants

b

: the form and structure of an organism or any of its parts

amphibian morphology

external and internal eye morphology

2

a

: a study and description of word formation (such as inflection, derivation, and compounding) in language

b

: the system of word-forming elements and processes in a language

According to English morphology, the third person singular present tense of a verb is formed by adding -s.

3

a

: a study of structure or form

b

: structure, form

the unique morphology of the city H. J. Nelson

4

: the external structure of rocks in relation to the development of erosional forms or topographic features

morphological

adjective

or less commonly morphologic

What is the study of words how they are formed and their relationship to other words in the same language?

Did you know?

Within the field of biology, morphology is the study of the shapes and arrangement of parts of organisms, in order to determine their function, their development, and how they may have been shaped by evolution. Morphology is particularly important in classifying species, since it can often reveal how closely one species is related to another. Morphology is studied within other sciences as well, including astronomy and geology. And in language, morphology considers where words come from and why they look the way they do.

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web While both morphology and genetics can tell us a lot about how other creatures survive on Earth, there will always be parts of other organisms’ lives that matter very much to them but are hidden from us. Brooke Jarvis, WIRED, 10 Nov. 2022 During its eight years in Mars' atmosphere, scientists from several institutions have collected information about the planet's surface features, morphology, atmosphere and exosphere. CBS News, 5 Oct. 2022 The second is gathering enough information to map its morphology. Wired, 6 July 2022 His group led the investigation into developing minimum-sound standards for E.V.s and hybrids, and establishing parameters to govern the decibel level, pitch, and morphology of the warning signals. John Seabrook, The New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2022 Existing rip-current forecasts also tend to cover large areas and often don’t factor in a beach’s underlying morphology, which limits their value for any specific beach, Houser says. Chloe Williams, The Atlantic, 20 June 2022 While many shark species have the same tooth morphology throughout, the Port Jackson has teeth that looks different in the front and back. Melissa Cristina Márquez, Forbes, 1 May 2022 No doubt Neandertals had a distinctive morphology, but many of their traits are also found much later in the modern people who followed them. David W. Frayer, Scientific American, 1 Feb. 2022 Co-author John Capano of Brown University performed the x-ray experiments, using a technique known as XROMM (X-ray reconstruction of moving morphology) to create X-ray movies of the snakes. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 24 Mar. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'morphology.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

German Morphologie, from morph- + -logie -logy

First Known Use

1828, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler

The first known use of morphology was in 1828

Dictionary Entries Near morphology

Cite this Entry

“Morphology.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/morphology. Accessed 15 Nov. 2022.

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Last Updated: 15 Nov 2022 - Updated example sentences

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Merriam-Webster unabridged

What is the study of morphology?

morphology, in biology, the study of the size, shape, and structure of animals, plants, and microorganisms and of the relationships of their constituent parts.

What is the study of linguistics?

Linguistics is the scientific study of language. At the heart of linguistics is an understanding of: The unconscious knowledge that humans have about language. How humans acquire language. The general and specific structures of language.

What is morphology and morphemes?

Morphology is the study of words and their parts. Morphemes, like prefixes, suffixes and base words, are defined as the smallest meaningful units of meaning. Morphemes are important for phonics in both reading and spelling, as well as in vocabulary and comprehension.

What part of linguistics study the formation of words?

Morphology - the study of the formation of words. Syntax - the study of the formation of sentences. Semantics - the study of meaning. Pragmatics - the study of language use.