suppletion Hear it!

suppletion Definition

sup·pletion (sə plē′s̸hən)

noun

    1. the occurrence of an allomorph of a morpheme which has no phonological similarity to the other allomorphs (Ex.: the -en of oxen, as opposed to a form ending in -s)
    2. the use of an unrelated word (suppletive form) in a paradigm (Ex.: went for the past tense of go)
  2. the morphological process by which such replacement occurs

Etymology: ME supplecioun < ML suppletio < L suppletus: see suppletory

suppletion Related Forms
sup′·ple·tive (sup′lə tiv, sə plēt′iv) adjective
suppletion Usage Examples

Adjective modifier

  • total: Strong verbs in English are not quite good examples of total suppletion.