grapheme Hear it!

grapheme Definition

☆ graph·eme (graf′ēm′)

noun

Linguis. a class consisting of all the allographs representing a given unit of a writing system, or all those representing a given phoneme

Etymology: graph, a spelling, occurrence of an allograph (< -graph) + -eme

grapheme Related Forms

gra·phe′mic adjective

grapheme Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • represent: Note that currently not all such names represent graphemes.
  • find: Clearly it is not a problem for advocates of spelling reform to find adequate graphemes to represent the full range of English phonemes.
  • have: Do we have a special grapheme for a sound only used by a minority?