Understanding Lexemes in Linguistics

In linguistics, a lexeme is the core form of a word that carries its basic meaning and grammatical information. It is the underlying form of a word that is not affected by inflectional endings or other grammatical modifications.

For example, the word "run" has several inflected forms such as "ran," "running," and "runner." However, the lexeme of "run" is the base form without any inflectional ending, which carries the basic meaning of the verb.

Lexemes are important in linguistics because they provide a way to analyze and understand the structure of words and their relationships with other words in a language. By studying lexemes, linguists can gain insights into the history and evolution of languages, as well as the ways in which words are used and understood by speakers.