-emic

suffix

Pertaining to a fundamental unit in some kind of structure, chiefly linguistic structure.

OriginEnglish phonemeclip. ← Ancient Greek φώνημα (phṓnēma) ← Proto-Hellenic *pʰōnā́ →
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Meanings

suffix-emic (adjective-forming suffix, not comparable)
  1. not comparablePertaining to a fundamental unit in some kind of structure, chiefly linguistic structure.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂-
  2. Proto-Hellenic*pʰōnā́
  3. Ancient Greekφωνή (phōnḗ)
  4. Ancient Greekφωνέω (phōnéō)
  5. Ancient Greekφώνημα (phṓnēma)
  6. Englishphonemeclip.
  7. English-emic

From -eme + -ic. Formed as an analogue of -etic; compare emic and etic.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

-emic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-emic

MLA

“-emic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-emic. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “-emic,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-emic.

Source: -emic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.