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Clitic
01
a linguistic element that functions as a word but behaves phonologically or syntactically as a bound morpheme, often attaching to other words and lacking independent stress or full syntactic independence
What is a "clitic"?
A clitic is a word-like element that cannot stand alone and must attach to a host word, usually a noun or verb. Clitics often express grammatical relationships, such as tense, mood, or possession. For instance, in the phrase "she's here", "she's" is a clitic formed from "she is". Clitics can appear before the host word, known as proclitics, or after it, known as enclitics. They are important in speech because they help combine words into smoother, more efficient expressions, enhancing the flow of language.
clitic
n
