theme

Noun

• (linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed
  • thematic vowels are part of the stem
    

• an essay (especially one written as an assignment)
  • he got an A on his composition
    

• (music) melodic subject of a musical composition
  • the theme is announced in the first measures
    
  • the accompanist picked up the idea and elaborated it
    

• a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in literary or artistic work
  • it was the usual `boy gets girl' theme
    

• the subject matter of a conversation or discussion
  • he didn't want to discuss that subject
    
  • it was a very sensitive topic
    
  • his letters were always on the theme of love
    

Verb

• provide with a particular theme or motive
  • the restaurant often themes its menus
    

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  root , root word , base , stem , radical , composition , paper , report , melodic theme , musical theme , idea , motif , subject , topic