About definitions of the word

The article is devoted to the word as a basic notion in the history of linguistics and the theory of modern linguistics. It is stated that the word used to be a central unit of the language in European tradition, but then it didn’t require any definition and was singled out on the basis of linguistic intuition. However, since the end of the 19th cen. many attempts to reveal structural features of the word as a science notion have been undertaken. It resulted in numerous definitions of the word which differ in the aspects of consideration. The author offers the analysis of the definitions of the term ‘word’ that vary in the dominance of phonetic, morphological, syntactical, graphical indications and their hierarchy that is explained by differences between languages (Russian, Romanic, German, Japanese in particular). There exits both complex definitions of the word, which unite some indications, and single feature definitions. In some case various aspectual character of the word is highlighted, thus the word is viewed as a lexical unit, as a morphological form, as a graphic sign. Unfavorably, these definitions can not fully define the notion that may be equally reflected in the majority of words, they do not point to the central function of the unit for language users. The author puts forward the following idea: the word should not be referred to a structural element of the language; it is a language unit that is preserved in human brains and performs a leading role in speech production. This role is proved by the data on aphasia and child’s speech.