§26. Root, Stem, and Base
The Stem may be the same as the root: as in duc-is, of a leader, fer-t, he bears; but it is more frequently formed from the root—
- By changing or lengthening its vowel: as in scob-s, sawdust (SCAB, shave); rēg-is, of a king (REG, direct); vōc-is, of a voice (VOC, call).
- By the addition of a simple suffix (originally another root): as in fugā-, stem of fuga, flight (FUG + ā-); regi-s, you rule (REG + stem-ending e/o-); sini-t, he allows (SI + ne/o-).1
- By two or more of these methods: as in dūci-t, he leads (DUC + stemending e/o-).
- By derivation and composition, following the laws of development peculiar to the language. (See §§ 227 ff.)
J. H. Allen and J. B. Greenough, New Latin Grammar (Boston: Ginn, 1903). Text provided under a CC BY-SA license by Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities.