Morphemes in “famous”
“famous” has 2 morphemes: fame + -ous.
fam
root
+
ous
suffix
Spelling changes when the parts join: the boxes show the letters as written; the morphemes themselves are fame + -ous.
Each morpheme explained
| Morpheme | Type | Free / bound | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| fame (written fam) | free root | free | the state or quality of being widely honored and acclaimed |
| -ous | derivational suffix | bound | having, full of, characterised by |
How the word is built
fame → famous
Each step adds one affix to the word before it; the root “fame” is where the chain starts.
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Prefixes, roots and suffixes with glosses, free and in your browser.
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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 "famous"?
"famous" has two morphemes: fame + -ous.
How do you break "famous" into morphemes?
fame + -ous. The root is "fame"; -ous is a derivational suffix.
What is the root word of "famous"?
The root of "famous" is "fame", built up as fame → famous.
Is this morphology tool free?
Yes. The Fixie morphological analyzer is free with no signup and runs in your browser.