Gramma

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɡɹæ(m)mɑː/

Definitions

1. A distinctive unit of written language that represents a fundamental aspect of meaning in linguistics
2. the smallest unit of speech that carries significance in communication
3. A basic element in the structure of language, denoting a specific meaning or grammatical function in both spoken and written forms

Etymology: "Gramma" is a playful respelling of "grandma," written the way a child or a baby-talk speaker might say it. The sound "gram" is ordinary, and it is the same sound as "grandma" minus the "d" and with the vowels of the second syllable reduced, so the spelling mirrors how the word is spoken rather than how it is written. Its second use is as a sort of hidden relative of the scientific unit. The root "gram" comes from Ancient Greek "grámma," meaning a written character or letter, from the verb "graphein," to write. From that same Greek source, English took "gram" as a unit of meaning, a word that has been borrowed as a term in linguistics, where "gram" names a minimal unit of grammar. The two words are doublets: they descend from one Greek original but reached English along different routes, one as a family pet name and the other as a technical label.

Synonyms: grammar, grandmother, gramma fish