| free morpheme |
| Definition:
A morpheme that can stand alone as a word. Note: A morpheme that CANNOT stand alone as a word is called a bound morpheme. |
| Example:
The word undone has two morphemes: (1) the bound morpheme un- and (2) the free morpheme done. |
| Oxford English Dictionary: The term's first citation is from 1933: "Morpheme-words, consisting of a single (free) morpheme: man, boy, cut, run, red, big." (L. Bloomfield Language xiii. 209) |