Morphemes in “misspelling”
“misspelling” has 3 morphemes: mis- + spell + -ing.
mis
prefix
+
spell
root
+
ing
suffix
Spelling changes when the parts join: the boxes show the letters as written; the morphemes themselves are mis- + spell + -ing.
Each morpheme explained
| Morpheme | Type | Free / bound | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| mis- | derivational prefix | bound | wrongly, badly |
| spell | free root | free | a psychological state induced by (or as if induced by) a magical incantation |
| -ing | inflectional suffix | bound | ongoing action (present participle) / gerund |
How the word is built
spell → misspell → misspelling
Each step adds one affix to the word before it; the root “spell” 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 "misspelling"?
"misspelling" has three morphemes: mis- + spell + -ing.
How do you break "misspelling" into morphemes?
mis- + spell + -ing. The root is "spell"; mis- is a derivational prefix, -ing is a inflectional suffix.
What is the root word of "misspelling"?
The root of "misspelling" is "spell", built up as spell → misspell → misspelling.
Is this morphology tool free?
Yes. The Fixie morphological analyzer is free with no signup and runs in your browser.