[*] 24. 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.1 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.
[*] Note.--The stem is in many forms so united with the termination that a comparison with other forms is necessary to determine it.