Ma'anar ƙamus na kalmar "mafificiyar kalma" tana nufin kalmar da ta fi gaba ɗaya ko haɗa cikin ma'ana fiye da wata kalma. A cikin ilimin harshe, kuma ana kiranta da hypernym, wanda shine kalmar da ke nufin wani nau'i ko nau'in abubuwa, ra'ayoyi, ko ra'ayoyin da suka haɗa da wasu, ƙayyadaddun kalmomi da ake kira hyponyms.Misali, " dabba" kalma ce mafi girma don munafunci kamar "kare," "cat," da "doki." Hakazalika, "'ya'yan itace" kalma ce mafi girma don munafunci kamar "apple," "ayaba," da "orange." Ana iya amfani da manyan kalmomi don bayyana rukuni na abubuwa masu alaƙa ko don ba da taƙaitaccen bayani ko taƙaita wani ra'ayi ko ra'ayi.