Kavyalankara 4.3

4.3

apārthamityapetārthaṃ sa cārthaḥ padavākyayoḥ
arthavān varṇasaṃghātaḥ suptiṅantaṃ padaṃ punaḥ //

By 'incoherent' is meant devoid of meaning; and that meaning belongs to word and sentence;
a collection of phonemes possessing meaning, ending in a nominal or verbal inflection, is a word;