lexéma
Lexéma, also known as lexeme in many linguistic traditions, is the fundamental unit of lexical meaning that underlies a family of related word forms. It represents an abstract mental unit, distinct from the particular surface form that is realized in speech or writing. A single lexéma can generate a range of inflected or derived forms that share the same core meaning.
In practice, a lexéma encompasses all the morphologically related forms that express the same lexical content.
A related concept is the lemma, the canonical or dictionary form used to represent a lexéma. The
Lexèmes are distinguished from morphemes, the smallest units of meaning. Morphemes compose word forms; a lexéma,
The term is used across languages, with slight variations in spelling (for example, lexème in French, lexéma