lexeme

lexeme (lexeme): an item of vocabulary; a 'family' of words that are related to each other in that they are inflected forms of the same stem, and carry the same core meaning. E.g. draw, draws, drew, drawn, drawing are all instances of the same lexeme ('draw'). However, the noun drawing represents another lexeme (that can be realized by drawing, drawings). A lexeme is usually cited as the base form of a word; the citation form which is what is recorded in dictionaries. See also word.