deep structure: Meaning and Definition of

deep' struc'ture

Pronunciation: [key]
— Ling. Ling.
  1. (in transformational-generative grammar) the underlying semantic or syntactic representation of a sentence, from which the surface structure may be derived. Cf. surface structure.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.