English

Etymology

Indo-European werə- , to speak.

Pronunciation

• /wɜː(r)d/, /w3:(r)d/

Noun

word (words)

1. (linguistics) A distinct unit of language (sounds in speech or written letters) with a particular meaning, composed of one or more morphemes, and also of one or more phonemes that determine its sound pattern.
2. Something promised.

   I give you my word that I will be there on time

3. (computing) A numerical value with a bit width native to the machine.
4. (theology) God (see [1])
5. In hip hop slang, an exclamation, often not spoken in exclamatory voice, indicating deep and complete agreement. This use originates from the Five Percenters' mantra that "Word is Bond"; an earlier form was word up. The use of the term "word" as a sign of agreement and solidarity has come into common use outside of hip hop circles.

Synonyms

• (something promised): promise
• (God): God, Logos, word of God

Derived terms

• wordy
• word processor
• wordsmith
• the hard word
• buzzword

Translations

unit of language

something promised

computing sense

word of God

The translations below need to be checked by native speakers and inserted into the correct table(s) above.

• Korean: 단어 (daneo), 말 (mal)

See also

• idiom
• lexeme
• listeme
• morpheme
• phrase
• set phrase
• syllable
• term
• Wikipedia article on words

Dutch

Verb

word

1. (first-person present singular of worden) becomes
2. (second-person present singular of worden, if verb precedes pronoun (word jij) become
3. (imperative of worden) become