chroneme

C3H4R1O1N1E1M3E1

noun

A basic, theoretical unit of sound that can distinguish words by duration only of a vowel or consonant.

OriginAncient Greek χρόνος →
Scrabble 15
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Meanings

nounchroneme (plural chronemes)

plural chronemes

  1. A basic, theoretical unit of sound that can distinguish words by duration only of a vowel or consonant.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekφώνημα“sound”
  2. Ancient Greekχρόνος
  3. Englishchroneme

From Ancient Greek χρόνος (khrónos) + -eme, a suffix indicating a fundamental unit in some aspect of linguistic structure, extracted from phoneme, from Ancient Greek φώνημα (phṓnēma, “sound”), from φωνέω (phōnéō, “to sound”), from φωνή (phōnḗ, “sound”). By surface analysis, chrono- + -eme.

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Dutch chroneem
  • chroneembasic, theoretical unit of sound that can distinguish words by duration only of a vowel or consonant
Finnish kroneemi
  • kroneemibasic, theoretical unit of sound that can distinguish words by duration only of a vowel or consonant
French chronème
  • chronèmebasic, theoretical unit of sound that can distinguish words by duration only of a vowel or consonant
German Chronem
  • Chronembasic, theoretical unit of sound that can distinguish words by duration only of a vowel or consonant
Italian cronema
  • cronemabasic, theoretical unit of sound that can distinguish words by duration only of a vowel or consonant
Polish chronem
  • chronembasic, theoretical unit of sound that can distinguish words by duration only of a vowel or consonant
Spanish cronema
  • cronemabasic, theoretical unit of sound that can distinguish words by duration only of a vowel or consonant
Swedish kronem
  • kronembasic, theoretical unit of sound that can distinguish words by duration only of a vowel or consonant

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

chromene
Cite this entry
APA

chroneme. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chroneme

MLA

“chroneme.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chroneme. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “chroneme,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chroneme.

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