What does "athematic" mean?

Of a root, not having a thematic vowel and thus attaching inflections directly to the root.

How do you pronounce "athematic"?

Pronounced //ˌæθiːˈmætɪk//.

//ˌæθiːˈmætɪk// adj

adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Adjective

1
Of a root, not having a thematic vowel and thus attaching inflections directly to the root. not-comparable
"Celtic tended to thematicize athematic verbs and to generalize a single grade of ablaut, usually the zero grade of the plural:..."

"Celtic tended to thematicize athematic verbs and to generalize a single grade of ablaut, usually the zero grade of the plural:..."

From a- + thematic.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.