Before processing, what does a “word” mean?

Speech processing, is well, processing of speech. Understand, what’s a word? It’s data. It’s just that - everything else which comes to your mind is via the processing which happens in your mind.Take the word butterfly. To use this word it is not necessary to make the voice weigh less than an ounce or equip it with small dusty wings. It is not necessary to invent a sunny day or a field of daffodil ...