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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread word inserted within a word #188219 12/11/2009 1:06 PM Joined: Dec 2009 Posts: 1 wahoshi stranger wahoshi stranger Joined: Dec 2009 Posts: 1 A colleague of mine recently asked me a question for which I have not been able to find an answer, so, I thought I would consult the definitive experts on words. I know there is a term for just about everything, but, this one has eluded me. Perhaps I'm using the incorrect search parameters, but, it has to do with a particular vernacular whereupon the speaker will insert a word inside an otherwise complete word. An example might be, "Well, that's a-whole-nother issue", the word "whole" being inserted inside the word "another". Is there a name for this construct? If not, perhaps there should be, since , at least in American English, it appears to be quite common. Thanks, Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: word inserted within a word wahoshi #188220 12/11/2009 1:20 PM Joined: Aug 2005 Posts: 3,290 R'lyeh zmjezhd Carpal Tunnel zmjezhd Carpal Tunnel Joined: Aug 2005 Posts: 3,290 R'lyeh It's usually called tmesis (link), although the term originally meant something different in Classical Greek. Ceci n'est pas un seing. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: word inserted within a word zmjezhd #188221 12/11/2009 1:33 PM Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 Faldage Carpal Tunnel Faldage Carpal Tunnel Joined: Dec 2000 Posts: 13,803 If you read the Wikipedia entry you'll note that [l]inguists sometimes describe tmesis as a form of infixation. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: fictum fingit Faldage #188222 12/11/2009 2:01 PM Joined: Aug 2005 Posts: 3,290 R'lyeh zmjezhd Carpal Tunnel zmjezhd Carpal Tunnel Joined: Aug 2005 Posts: 3,290 R'lyeh infixation Yes, but I do not. I use -fixation in a morphological context. To my mind, something different is going on with the abso-bloody-lutely type phenomena. What gets infixed is a morph (cf. nasal presents in Greek and Sanskrit), not an independent word. What's going in in (modern) tmesis seems more like a rhetorical device than a morphological process. But, hey, that's just me! Ceci n'est pas un seing. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: fictum fingit zmjezhd #188225 12/11/2009 7:41 PM Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,542 this too shall pass tsuwm Carpal Tunnel tsuwm Carpal Tunnel Joined: Apr 2000 Posts: 10,542 this too shall pass then there's dystmesis (ON = 2) [fr. Gk. tmesis, act of cutting + dys-, bad] defined variously as: a) a synonym for tmesis; b) tmesis at syllable boundaries, as opposed to between parts of a compound; c) separation at an inappropriate or unlikely position considering the lexemes, it seems like the actual meaning should be closer to the last of these; e.g., unbefreakinglievable (as opposed to the tmesis of unfreakingbelievable). --- edit: years back, when I offered up tmesis as the answer to this same question, it was met with some measure of increscoffingdulity; but I note that tmesis now has an ON of 25! Last edited by tsuwm; 12/11/2009 7:51 PM. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. (have been... ------  Words from medicine  Beheading words  Meta-words  Words from classical mythology  Animal Safari  Words with unusual etymologies  Eponyms or words derived from p...  Loanwords from German  English as a global language Print Thread Switch to Threaded Mode Show Likes Link Copied to Clipboard View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Website Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary

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