Which term refers to the smallest unit of meaning in a language?

The term that refers to the smallest unit of meaning in a language is "morpheme." Morphemes are the building blocks of words and can be classified as either free morphemes, which can stand alone as words (such as "cat" or "run"), or bound morphemes, which cannot stand alone and are typically prefixes or suffixes (such as "un-" in "undo" or "-s" in "cats"). Understanding morphemes is crucial for grasping how words are formed and how their meanings can change when morphemes are added or altered.

In contrast, lexemes refer to the abstract unit of meaning or a family of words that share the same meaning, syllables are units of sound that make up words, and graphemes are the smallest units of written language, like letters or punctuation marks. While each of these categories plays a significant role in language, they do not encompass the concept of meaning in the same way that morphemes do. Thus, morphemes are the key focus when discussing the smallest units of meaning in a language.