Dictionary / word
word
- noun
- verb
- interjection
- from Old English
The smallest unit of language that has a particular meaning and can be expressed by itself; the smallest discrete, meaningful unit of language. (contrast morpheme.)
1 All current definitions
Every sense of “word” in current use, as recorded by Wiktionary. Older and obsolete senses are kept separately.
noun
- countableuncountableThe smallest unit of language that has a particular meaning and can be expressed by itself; the smallest discrete, meaningful unit of language. (contrast morpheme.)
Brian and Abby signed the word clothing, in which the thumbs brush down the chest as though something is hanging there. They both spoke the word clothing. Brian then signed the word for change, […]2009, Jack Fitzgerald, Viva La Evolucin, →ISBN, page 233:
- The smallest unit of language that has a particular meaning and can be expressed by itself; the smallest discrete, meaningful unit of language. (contrast morpheme.)countableuncountableThe smallest discrete unit of spoken language with a particular meaning, composed of one or more phonemes and one or more morphemes.
Then all was silent save the voice of the high priest, whose words grew louder and louder, […]1894, Alex. R. Mackwen, “The Samaritan Passover”, in Littell's Living Age, volume 1, number 6:
- The smallest unit of language that has a particular meaning and can be expressed by itself; the smallest discrete, meaningful unit of language. (contrast morpheme.)countableuncountableThe smallest discrete unit of written language with a particular meaning, composed of one or more letters or symbols and one or more morphemes.
Polonius: What do you read, my lord? Hamlet: Words, words, words.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blou
- The smallest unit of language that has a particular meaning and can be expressed by itself; the smallest discrete, meaningful unit of language. (contrast morpheme.)countableuncountableA discrete, meaningful unit of language approved by an authority or native speaker (compare non-word).
“Ain’t! How often am I to tell you ain’t ain’t a word?”1896, Israel Zangwill, Without Prejudice, page 21:
- The smallest unit of language that has a particular meaning and can be expressed by itself; the smallest discrete, meaningful unit of language. (contrast morpheme.)countableuncountableA sign used in a sign language.
- Something like such a unit of language:countableuncountableA sequence of letters, characters, or sounds, considered as a discrete entity, though it does not necessarily belong to a language or have a meaning.
In still another variation, the nonsense word is presented and the teacher asks, "What sound was in the beginning of the word?" "In the middle?" and so on. The child should always respond with the phoneme; he should not use letter labels.1974, Thinking Goes to School: Piaget's Theory in Practice, →ISBN, page 183:
- Something like such a unit of language:countableuncountableA unit of text equivalent to five characters and one space.
- Something like such a unit of language:countableuncountableA fixed-size group of bits handled as a unit by a machine and which can be stored in or retrieved from a typical register (so that it has the same size as such a register).
The size of a register in the MIPS architecture is 32 bits; groups of 32 bits occur so frequently that they are given the name word in the MIPS architecture.1997, John L. Hennessy with David A. Patterson, Computer Organization and Design, 2nd edition, San Francisco, California: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, Inc., §3.3, page 109:
- Something like such a unit of language:countableuncountableWith regards to Intel or Intel-compatible hardware and/or in the context of Windows programming, a group of exactly 16 bits regardless of the actual processor capabilities; a fossilized unit referring to the small word size of historical CPUs.
- Something like such a unit of language:countableuncountableA finite string that is not a command or operator.
- Something like such a unit of language:countableuncountableA group element, expressed as a product of group elements.
- countableuncountableThe fact or act of speaking, as opposed to taking action. .
[…] she believed them still so very much attached to each other, that they could not be too sedulously divided in word and deed on every occasion.1811, Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility:
- countableuncountableSomething that someone said; a comment, utterance; speech.
And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 26:75:
- countableuncountableA watchword or rallying cry, a verbal signal (even when consisting of multiple words).
mum's the word
- uncountableNews; tidings.
Have you had any word from John yet?
- countableuncountableAn order; a request or instruction; an expression of will.
He sent word that we should strike camp before winter.
- countableuncountableA promise; an oath or guarantee.
I give you my word that I will be there on time.
- countableuncountableA brief discussion or conversation.
I managed to murmur some words of consolation as I left the funeral.
- countableuncountableA minor reprimand.
I had a word with him about it.
- countablein pluraluncountableSee words.
There had been words between him and the secretary about the outcome of the meeting.
- countableuncountableCommunication from God; the message of the Christian gospel; the Bible, Scripture.
Her parents had lived in Botswana, spreading the word among the tribespeople.
- countableuncountableLogos, Christ.
And that worde was made flesshe, and dwelt amonge vs, and we sawe the glory off yt, as the glory off the only begotten sonne off the father, which worde was full of grace, and verite.1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, John:
Older & obsolete senses (1)
- countableobsoleteuncountableA proverb or motto.
verb
- transitiveTo say or write (something) using particular words; to phrase (something).
strongly worded letter
- transitiveTo ply or overpower with words.
[…] if one were to be worded to death, Italian is the fittest Language [for that task]1621 November 30, James Howell, letter to Francis Bacon, from Turin:
- raretransitiveTo conjure with a word.
Against him […] who could word heaven and earth out of nothing, and can when he pleases word them into nothing again.c. 1645-1715, Robert South, Sermon on Psalm XXXIX. 9:
Older & obsolete senses (2)
- obsoletetransitiveTo flatter with words, to cajole.
- archaicintransitiveTo speak, to use words; to converse, to discourse.
interjection
- slangTruth, indeed, that is the truth! The shortened form of the statement "My word is my bond."
"Yo, that movie was epic!" / "Word?" ("You speak the truth?") / "Word." ("I speak the truth.")
- emphaticslangAn abbreviated form of word up; a statement of the acknowledgment of fact with a hint of nonchalant approval.
"[…] Know what I'm sayin'?" / "Word!" the other man strongly agreed. "Let's do this — "2004, Shannon Holmes, Never Go Home Again: A Novel, page 218:
Cross-check: WordNet senses (11)
- nouna unit of language that native speakers can identify
- nouna brief statement
- nouninformation about recent and important events — also: news, intelligence, tidings
- nouna verbal command for action
- nounan exchange of views on some topic — also: discussion, give-and-take
- nouna promise — also: parole, word of honor
- nouna word is a string of bits stored in computer memory
- nounthe divine word of God; the second person in the Trinity (incarnate in Jesus) — also: Son, Logos
- nouna secret word or phrase known only to a restricted group — also: password, watchword, parole, countersign
- nounthe sacred writings of the Christian religions — also: Bible, Christian Bible, Book, Good Book, Holy Scripture
- verbput into words or an expression — also: give voice, formulate, phrase, articulate
Synonyms: vocable, word, lexeme
2 History of the word
The etymology, the path the word travelled, and the words built from it.
The word’s journey, newest to oldest:
- English (today)word
- Middle Englishword
- Old Englishword
- Proto-West Germanic*word
- Proto-Germanic*wurdą “word”
- Proto-Indo-European*werdʰom “word”
- Proto-Indo-European*werh₁- “to say, speak”
From Middle English word, from Old English word, from Proto-West Germanic *word, from Proto-Germanic *wurdą (“word”), from Proto-Indo-European *werdʰom (“word”), from *werh₁- (“to say, speak”). Doublet of verb, verve, and vort; further related to vrata.
Cognates
Cognate with Scots wird (“word”), North Frisian uurd, Uurt, wurd, wårde, wür (“word”), Saterland Frisian Woud, Wud (“word”), West Frisian wurd (“word”), Alemannic German wort, wourd, wuart, wòrt, wört (“word”), Bavarian boart, bort, bört, Wurt (“word”), Cimbrian bóart, bort (“word”), Dutch woord (“word”), German Wort (“word”), German Low German Woord, Woort (“word”), Limburgish waord, Woërt (“word”), Luxembourgish Wuert (“word”), Mòcheno bourt (“word”), Vilamovian wiüt, wuyt (“word”), Yiddish וואָרט (vort, “word”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish ord (“word”), Elfdalian uord (“word”), Faroese, Icelandic, and Scanian orð (“word”), Gutnish ård (“word”), Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌳 (waurd, “word”); also Ancient Greek ῥητός (rhētós, “spoken, stipulated”); also Latin verbum (“word”), Umbrian 𐌖𐌄𐌓𐌚𐌀𐌋𐌄 (uerfale, “temple”), Ancient Greek εἴρω (eírō, “to say, speak, tell”), Latgalian vuords (“name; word”), Latvian vārds (“name; word”), Lithuanian var̃das (“name”), Russian врать (vratʹ, “to lie”), Serbo-Croatian ва̏рати, vȁrati (“to cheat, deceive, trick, swindle; to be mistaken”), Armenian հորջորջել (horǰorǰel, “to call, name”), Ashkun vīri (“word”), Kamkata-viri vëri, viri (“word”), Prasuni veri, verī, vëre, vëri (“word”), Sanskrit व्रत (vrata, “command; law; will”).
Derivatives — words built from “word”
Phrases & compounds
Related terms
Want to go deeper? See also “word” on Etymonline ↗
3 Original language
Where “word” came from before it was English.
4 Original meaning
What the word meant at the oldest point the record reaches.
Historical meaning — Webster’s 1913
A historical record, labelled as such: some of these senses are dated or have since shifted.
word n. [AS. word; akin to OFries. & OS. word, D. woord, G. wort, Icel. or, Sw. & Dan. ord, Goth. wa, OPruss. wirds, Lith. vardas a name, L. verbum a word; or perhaps to Gr. "rh`twr an orator. Cf. Verb.]
- The spoken sign of a conception or an idea; an articulate or vocal sound, or a combination of articulate and vocal sounds, uttered by the human voice, and by custom expressing an idea or ideas; a single component part of human speech or language; a constituent part of a sentence; a term; a vocable.
- Hence, the written or printed character, or combination of characters, expressing such a term; as, the words on a page.
- Talk; discourse; speech; language.
- Account; tidings; message; communication; information; -- used only in the singular.
word v. i.
- To use words, as in discussion; to argue; to dispute.
word v. t.
- To express in words; to phrase.
- To ply with words; also, to cause to be by the use of a word or words.
- To flatter with words; to cajole.
5 Use it with confidence
Model sentences from the sources, matched to the meaning they show. Read each one aloud, then make your own in the game.
nounMeaning: The smallest unit of language that has a particular meaning and can be expressed by itself; the smallest discrete, meaningful unit of language. (contrast morpheme.)
Brian and Abby signed the word clothing, in which the thumbs brush down the chest as though something is hanging there. They both spoke the word clothing. Brian then signed the word for change, […]2009, Jack Fitzgerald, Viva La Evolucin, →ISBN, page 233:
nounMeaning: The smallest discrete unit of spoken language with a particular meaning, composed of one or more phonemes and one or more morphemes.
Then all was silent save the voice of the high priest, whose words grew louder and louder, […]1894, Alex. R. Mackwen, “The Samaritan Passover”, in Littell's Living Age, volume 1, number 6:
I can't believe you want me back. You've got Jen to thank for that. Her words the other day moved me deeply. Very deeply indeed. Really? What did she say. Like I remember! Point is it's the effect of her words that's important.2006 Feb. 17, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, Season 1, Episode 4
nounMeaning: The smallest discrete unit of written language with a particular meaning, composed of one or more letters or symbols and one or more morphemes.
Polonius: What do you read, my lord? Hamlet: Words, words, words.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blou
The name was a confused gift of love from her father, who could not read the word but picked it out of the Bible for its visual shape, […]2003, Jan Furman, Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon: A Casebook, →ISBN, page 194:
nounMeaning: A discrete, meaningful unit of language approved by an authority or native speaker (compare non-word).
“Ain’t! How often am I to tell you ain’t ain’t a word?”1896, Israel Zangwill, Without Prejudice, page 21:
Fisherwoman isn’t even a word. It’s not in the dictionary.1999, Linda Greenlaw, The Hungry Ocean, Hyperion, page 11:
nounMeaning: A sequence of letters, characters, or sounds, considered as a discrete entity, though it does not necessarily belong to a language or have a meaning.
In still another variation, the nonsense word is presented and the teacher asks, "What sound was in the beginning of the word?" "In the middle?" and so on. The child should always respond with the phoneme; he should not use letter labels.1974, Thinking Goes to School: Piaget's Theory in Practice, →ISBN, page 183:
All 15.5 million ‘words’ (or so–the exact length depends on the repeat sequences, which vary greatly) in the twenty-second chapter of the human autobiography have been read and written down in English letters: 47 million As, Cs, Gs and Ts.1999, Matt Ridley, Genome, Harper Collins, →ISBN, page 301:
nounMeaning: A fixed-size group of bits handled as a unit by a machine and which can be stored in or retrieved from a typical register (so that it has the same size as such a register).
The size of a register in the MIPS architecture is 32 bits; groups of 32 bits occur so frequently that they are given the name word in the MIPS architecture.1997, John L. Hennessy with David A. Patterson, Computer Organization and Design, 2nd edition, San Francisco, California: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, Inc., §3.3, page 109:
nounMeaning: a unit of language that native speakers can identify
words are the blocks from which sentences are made
he hardly said ten words all morning
nounMeaning: a brief statement
he didn't say a word about it
nounMeaning: a verbal command for action
when I give the word, charge!
nounMeaning: an exchange of views on some topic
we had a word or two about it
Three steps to owning it
- Pick one meaning above and read its model sentence out loud.
- Say who or what the word is about in your own life, then build a sentence around that.
- Check it against the definition: would a careful reader understand exactly that meaning?
6 The mastery game
Play it here, or print it and do it with pen and paper. At the end you will know the meanings, history, origin and original meaning — and you will have used the word yourself.
Say it, then spell it
word
/wɜːd/
Say the word out loud three times, slowly. Notice the stressed syllable. When you are ready, hide it and spell it from memory.
Activate Words · Word-mastery worksheet · Name: ______________________ Date: __________
word
/wɜːd/ · noun, verb, interjection
Step 1 — Say it and write it
Say “word” out loud three times. Then cover the word and write it three times from memory.
Step 2 — Know every meaning
Read each definition. Then write it again in your own words.
Step 3 — Which meaning is it?
“mum's the word”
Circle the meaning used.
“Have you had any word from John yet?”
Circle the meaning used.
“He sent word that we should strike camp before winter.”
Circle the meaning used.
Step 4 — History and origin
Write the word’s journey back in time (each language and form):
Write three words built from “word” and what each means:
Step 5 — Original meaning
The earliest traceable form is Proto-Indo-European *werh₁-. What did it mean?
How does that original meaning connect to the meanings today?
Step 6 — Use it yourself
☐ I can explain its meanings ☐ I know its history ☐ I know its original language ☐ I know its original meaning ☐ I can use it confidently
Answer key — word
Which meaning, sentence 1: C. A watchword or rallying cry, a verbal signal (even when consisting of multiple words).
Which meaning, sentence 2: B. News; tidings.
Which meaning, sentence 3: A. An order; a request or instruction; an expression of will.
Origin: D. Old English (Old English word)
Journey: English word ← Middle English word ← Old English word ← Proto-West Germanic *word ← Proto-Germanic *wurdą ← Proto-Indo-European *werdʰom ← Proto-Indo-European *werh₁-
Some derivatives: a-word, babble-word, bareword, baseword, bug-word, buzz-word, buzzword, b-word
Original meaning: Proto-Indo-European *werh₁- — “to say, speak”
Etymology: From Middle English word, from Old English word, from Proto-West Germanic *word, from Proto-Germanic *wurdą (“word”), from Proto-Indo-European *werdʰom (“word”), from *werh₁- (“to say, speak”). Doublet of verb, verve, and vort; further related to vrata.
Sources: Wiktionary “word” (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/word#English), CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org; Princeton WordNet 3.0; Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913, public domain) via GCIDE. Worksheet from https://activatewords.com/w/word