What is the morphology of the word migration? I immediately see the -ation on the end, which I know consists of two suffixes: -ate and -ion. The remaining <migr> is likely the base, but is the full form <Migr>? Or could the base have a parenthetical <e> before the <r>?
To determine the morphology completely and accurately, I must investigate the etymology of the word. Looking up the word, I see that English migration comes from Latin migrātiō. The -ātiō is a source of the English -ate suffix when followed by -ion. The English -ate ultimately comes from the Latin past participle ending -ātus and, in the word migrate, is a verb suffix denoting “cause, make, or perform an action.” The -iō, whose genitive form is -iōnis and accusative form is -iōnem, is the ultimate source of the English -ion suffix, which is a noun suffix denoting a state, condition, or action. I thus have confirmation of my initially hypothesize -ate and -ion suffixes.
<Migr + ate + ion → migration>
I must now identify the base of the word migration, which, after removing the <ation> from the end, I hypothesize to be <Migr>. However, I know that, in some word families, a parenthetical <e> exists before the <r> as in the <Ast(e)r> base of disaster and astrology. I therefore must investigate the Latin migrātiō more thoroughly.
Looking into the etymology of migrātiō, I learned that the noun comes from the verb migrāre + –tiō. Latin migrāre means “move, change location.” The -āre on the end of the verb is the infinitive ending. Removing the verb ending leaves <Migr>. The base of migration is thus the bound base <Migr>.
Morphological relatives of migration include emigrate, immigrant, migratory, postmigration, and transmigrate, among others.
<e + Migr + ate → emigrate>
<im + Migr + ant → immigrant>
<Migr + ate + or + y → migratory>
<post + Migr + ate + ion → postmigration>
<trans + Migr + ate → transmigrate>
The morphemes of the word migration are thus the bound base <Migr>, the suffix -ate, and the suffix -ion.
