Morphemes in “bilateral”
“bilateral” has 2 morphemes: bi- + lateral.
bi
prefix
+
lateral
root
Spelling changes when the parts join: the boxes show the letters as written; the morphemes themselves are bi- + lateral.
Each morpheme explained
| Morpheme | Type | Free / bound | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| bi- | derivational prefix | bound | two, twice |
| lateral | free root | free | situated at or extending to the side; ; - Tennyson |
How the word is built
lateral → bilateral
Each step adds one affix to the word before it; the root “lateral” is where the chain starts.
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Segmentation derived from MorphyNet (Batsuren, Bella & Giunchiglia, 2021; CC BY-SA 3.0, built from Wiktionary), with hand-written affix glosses and root meanings from WordNet. Reviewed for classroom use; tell us if you spot an error.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many morphemes are in "bilateral"?
"bilateral" has two morphemes: bi- + lateral.
How do you break "bilateral" into morphemes?
bi- + lateral. The root is "lateral"; bi- is a derivational prefix.
What is the root word of "bilateral"?
The root of "bilateral" is "lateral", built up as lateral → bilateral.
Is this morphology tool free?
Yes. The Fixie morphological analyzer is free with no signup and runs in your browser.