BASE

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BASE, also base form. A WORD or LEXEME from which another is derived: the base of sharpen is sharp, of dorsal is dors-. Within a series, successive forms are bases: sharp for sharpen, sharpen for sharpener. Here, sharp is a primary base and sharpen a secondary base. A word that serves as a base is a base word; part of a word that serves as a base is a BOUND base. See MORPHOLOGY, ROOT, STEM.

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