The body of a word, to which the terminations are attached, is called the Stem.

The Stem contains the idea of the word without relations; but, except in the first part of a compound (as, arti-fex , artificer ), it cannot ordinarily be used without some termination to express them. Another exception is the imperative second person singular in -e (as, rege ).

Thus the stem vōc- denotes voice; with -s added it becomes vōx , a voice or the voice , as the subject or agent of an action; with -is it becomes vōcis , and signifies of a voice. The stem is in many forms so united with the termination that a comparison with other forms is necessary to determine it.

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