What is a bound morpheme?

A bound morpheme is characterized by its dependency on other morphemes for meaning, meaning it cannot stand alone as a complete word. Instead, a bound morpheme must be attached to other morphemes, whether they are free morphemes or other bound morphemes, to contribute to the formation of a word. This type of morpheme includes prefixes and suffixes, such as "un-" in "unhappy" or "-ed" in "walked," which modify the meaning of the base word to create a new or altered term. In contrast, free morphemes can stand alone and represent complete ideas, which distinguishes them from bound morphemes fundamentally. Understanding this distinction is essential in fields like linguistics and speech-language pathology, as it helps professionals analyze and address language development and processing in individuals.