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Contents 1 English 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Pronunciation 1.3 Noun 1.3.1 Usage notes 1.3.2 Synonyms 1.3.3 Derived terms 1.3.4 Translations 1.4 Verb 1.4.1 Synonyms 1.4.2 Translations 1.5 Interjection 1.5.1 Related terms 1.6 See also 2 Dutch 2.1 Pronunciation 2.2 Verb 3 Old English 3.1 Etymology 3.2 Pronunciation 3.3 Noun

[ English

[ Etymology

From Middle English < Old English word < Proto-Germanic *wurða- < Proto-Indo-European base *werə- (“‘to speak’”).

[ Pronunciation

Wikipedia

• (RP) IPA: /wɜːd/, SAMPA: /w3:d/
• (US) enPR: wûrd, IPA: /wɝd/, SAMPA: /w3`d/

   Audio (US)^{help, file}

  Rhymes: -ɜː(r)d

[ Noun

word (plural 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.
   • 1594, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, II.ii

     Polonius: What do you read, my lord?

     Hamlet: Words, words, words.

2. A distinct unit of language which is approved by some authority.
   • 1896, Israel Zangwill, Without Prejudice, p21

     “Ain’t! How often am I to tell you ain’t ain’t a word?”

   • 1999, Linda Greenlaw, The Hungry Ocean, Hyperion, p11

     Fisherwoman isn’t even a word. It’s not in the dictionary.

3. Something promised.

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

4. News; tidings.

   Have you had any word from John yet?

5. A discussion.

   I want to have a word with you.

6. (telegraphy) A unit of text equivalent to five characters and one space.
7. (computing) A numerical value with a bit width native to the machine.
8. (group theory) The written product of group elements and their inverses.
9. (computer science) A finite string which is not a command or operator.
10. (theology, sometimes ‘Word’) God.
    • See Bible, King James, John 1
11. (theology, sometimes ‘Word’) The Bible.

[ Usage notes

• (distinct unit of language): In English and other space-delimited languages, it is customary to treat "word" as referring to any sequence of characters delimited by spaces. However, this is not applicable to languages such as Chinese and Japanese, which are normally written without spaces, or to languages such as Vietnamese, which are written with a space between each syllable.

[ Synonyms

• (distinct unit of language): vocabulary
• (something promised): promise
• (God): God, Logos
• (Bible): word of God, Bible

[ Derived terms

Derived terms

buzzword catchword codeword dirty word dword empty word fighting word foreword the hard word headword in so many words keyword mince words oword password qword reword

stopword watchword word-building word for word word game wordless word order word of god word of mouth word processor wordsmith word up word wrap word-wheeling wordy

[ Translations