x1 is an etic unit/set of units forming emic unit x2 in theoretical field/according to theoretical model x3; x1 is etic.
Counterpart to emkuni 'emic unit'; synonymous with se emkuni. A distinction between 'emic' and 'etic' units is made in many schools of linguistics. (A very different emic-etic distinction is used in anthropology and sociology, referring to contrasting approaches to field research.) The terms derive from 'phonemic' and 'phonetic'. The allophone is the prototypical etic unit; several physically distinct allophones, or vocal sounds, are perceived as one linguistically meaningful unit, or phoneme (an emic unit). Allomorphs and glyphs are analogous etic units in morphology and grammatology, respectively.