noun
word root; morpheme
Linguistics term for the smallest meaningful unit within a word; similar to 形態素 (けいたいそ) but often used in the context of word formation.
「語素」は、単語を構成する意味の最小単位を指す言語学の用語です。
語素 is a linguistics term that refers to the smallest meaningful unit that makes up a word.
形態素 is the more common general term for 'morpheme' in linguistics; 語素 is sometimes used specifically for word-forming morphemes or roots.
Compound of 語 (ご, 'word') and 素 (そ, 'element'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term is a modern linguistic coinage.