wordbyitself
Wordbyitself is a coined term used in linguistics and lexicography to describe a lexical unit that exists as a standalone word with its own form and definition, rather than as a bound morpheme or as part of a fixed multiword expression. The concept serves to distinguish words that can function independently in discourse from affixes or from phrases that must appear together to convey a specific meaning.
Definition and scope: A wordbyitself typically corresponds to a lemma or headword in a dictionary and can
Examples: "cat," "happiness," and "blue" are commonly treated as wordbyitself entries. Bound morphemes like "un-" or
Usage and relevance: The term is not standard in most reference grammars but may appear in theoretical
See also: lemma, headword, multiword expression, bound morpheme.