allomorphyn.
/ˈalə(ʊ)mɔːfi/, U.S. /ˈæləˌmɔrfi/ Linguistics.
Alternation of two or more forms in a morphological or lexical unit.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > morphology > morpheme > [noun] > morph or allomorph
morpheme alternant1942
allomorph1945
morph1947
allomorphy1955
1955 Jrnl. Amer. Oriental Soc. 75 149/1 Sanskrit, with its extensive allomorphy of morphemes and its complex morphophonemics..is no more transparent in structure than is Greek.
1962 J. J. Gumperz in Anthropol. Linguistics 4 34 High and low styles tend to vary in lexicon, morphophonemics and allomorphy but not in phonology.
1992 Internat. Encycl. Linguistics I. 57/1 It may reduce allomorphy, spawn new affixes.., relocate a contrast.., or amalgamate affixes.
2003 H. van der Hulst & N. A. Ritter in A. M. Di Sciullo Asymmetry in Gram. II. 151 Allomorphy simply results from allophony if the conditions for one variant happen to be created in a morphologically derived context.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, September 2012; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
<
n.1955