Morphemes in “unicorn”
“unicorn” has 2 morphemes: uni- + corn.
uni
prefix
+
corn
root
Spelling changes when the parts join: the boxes show the letters as written; the morphemes themselves are uni- + corn.
Each morpheme explained
| Morpheme | Type | Free / bound | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| uni- | derivational prefix | bound | one, single |
| corn | free root | free | tall annual cereal grass bearing kernels on large ears: widely cultivated in America in many varieties; the principal cereal in Mexico and Central and South America since pre-Columbian times |
Break any word into morphemes
Prefixes, roots and suffixes with glosses, free and in your browser.
Open the morphological analyzer →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 "unicorn"?
"unicorn" has two morphemes: uni- + corn.
How do you break "unicorn" into morphemes?
uni- + corn. uni- is a derivational prefix.
Is this morphology tool free?
Yes. The Fixie morphological analyzer is free with no signup and runs in your browser.