Morphology / morpheme
The suffix ‘morph-’ is to do with shape, and morphology concerns the form and shape of words. It is an important aspect of grammar (along with syntax); morphology is the study of the way words are formed. The smallest part of a word that can exist alone or which can change a word’s meaning or function is called a morpheme (e.g. un-, happy, -ness).
A bound morpheme is an affix, i.e. usually a prefix or a suffix, e.g. un-, -tion. These are ‘bound’ called because they must be attached to another morpheme to create a word. Morphemes that can exist alone as a complete word are called free morphemes, e.g. happy.
