# Infix > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Infix > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Infix.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infix > Source revision: 1341151248 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Affix inserted inside a word stem This article is about infixes in natural languages. For the mathematical notation, see [Infix notation](/source/Infix_notation). This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (January 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Affixes Prefix Suffix Circumfix Duplifix Infix Libfix Interfix Transfix Simulfix Suprafix Disfix See also: Null morpheme v t e An **infix** is an [affix](/source/Affix) inserted inside a [word stem](/source/Word_stem) (an existing word or the core of a family of words). It contrasts with *[adfix](/source/Adfix),* a rare term for an affix attached to the outside of a stem, such as a [prefix](/source/Prefix) or [suffix](/source/Suffix).[note 1] When marking text for [interlinear glossing](/source/Interlinear_gloss), most affixes are separated with a hyphen, but infixes are separated with ⟨angle brackets⟩. ## English English has almost no true infixes and those it does have are marginal. Most are heard in [colloquial](/source/Colloquialism) speech;[1] although there are other examples, such as in [technical terminology](/source/Technical_terminology), these examples are often more accurately described as [tmesis](/source/Tmesis).[2] ### Colloquialisms None of the following are recognized in [standard English](/source/Standard_English). - The infix ⟨-iz-⟩ or ⟨-izn-⟩ is characteristic of [hip-hop](/source/Hip_hop_culture) [slang](/source/Slang), for example *h**-iz-**ouse* for *house* and *sh**-izn-**it* for *[shit](/source/Shit).* - The ⟨-ma-⟩ infix (or "Homeric infix," after [Homer Simpson](/source/Homer_Simpson)),[3] gives a word an [ironic](/source/Irony) pseudo-sophistication, as in *sophisti**-ma-**cated (sophisticated), saxo**-ma-**phone,* (saxophone) and *edu**-ma-**cation.* (education) This exists as a slang phenomenon. - Infixes also occur in some [language games](/source/Language_game). - The use of '[expletive infixes](/source/Expletive_infixation)' such as *-fucking-* and *-bloody-*, which are words rather than affixes, is known as [tmesis](/source/Tmesis). ## Indo-European nasal infix Main article: [Nasal infix](/source/Nasal_infix) The [present tense](/source/Present_tense) of some [Proto-Indo-European verbs](/source/Proto-Indo-European_verb), in the case of a certain number of roots, adds a [nasal infix](/source/Nasal_infix) (*m*, *n*) to the basic [root](/source/Proto-Indo-European_root). The stems of the other tenses have the root without the infix, and thus these verbs are called *nasal-presents*. This phenomenon is inherited, and preserved to varying degrees, by some early [daughter](/source/Indo-European_languages) languages such as [Sanskrit](/source/Sanskrit), [Ancient Greek](/source/Ancient_Greek), [Latin language](/source/Latin_language), etc.[4] - Sanskrit exhibits the greatest transparency of this feature amongst the [Indo-European languages](/source/Indo-European_languages), with the phenomenon manifesting in three of the ten traditional verb classes, where the infix is higher-grade and accent-bearing in the strong forms, and reduced-grade in the weak forms.[5][6] For example, *√yuj-*, 'join' has *yu·ná·k·ti* 's/he joins' ↔ *yu·ñj·ánti*, 'they join'.[7] - Latin present *vi**n**cō* "I win" (cf. [perfect](/source/Perfect_(grammar)) [passive](/source/Voice_(grammar)) [participle](/source/Participle) *victus* "conquered")[8] - Ancient Greek *la**m**bánō* (also with *-an-* suffix) "I take" (cf. [aorist](/source/Aorist) *élǎbon* "I took")[9] ## Spanish In [Nicaraguan](/source/Nicaraguan_Spanish), [Costa Rican](/source/Costa_Rican_Spanish), and [Honduran Spanish](/source/Honduran_Spanish), the Spanish [diminutive](/source/Diminutive) affix becomes an infix ⟨it⟩ in names: *Óscar* [ˈoskar] → *Osquítar* [osˈkitar] (cf. standard *Oscarito*); *Edgar* → *Edguítar*; *Victor* → *Victítor*. This diminutive infix can also be found for the word *azúcar*, due to its unusual form as a paroxytone word with a final /r/, giving *azuquítar*.[10] ## Portuguese In Portuguese, some pronominal verbal forms have infixes, like *dir-lhe-ei* "(I) will tell him" where *lhe* is the "him" pronoun. Most seen on conditional and futures tenses of the indicative mode, but not very common. ## Arabic [Arabic](/source/Arabic_language) uses a common infix, ⟨t⟩ ت for [Form VIII verbs](/source/Arabic_verbs), usually a [reflexive](/source/Reflexive_voice) of Form I. It is placed after the first [consonant](/source/Consonant) of the [root](/source/Root_(linguistics)); an [epenthetic](/source/Epenthesis) *i-* prefix is also added, since words cannot begin with a consonant cluster. An example is اجتهد *ijtahada* "he worked hard", from جهد *jahada* "he strove". (The words *[ijtihad](/source/Ijtihad)* and *[jihad](/source/Jihad)* are nouns derived from these two verbs.) ## Austronesian and Austroasiatic languages Infixes are common in some [Austronesian](/source/Austronesian_languages) and [Austroasiatic languages](/source/Austroasiatic_languages), but not in others. For example, in [Tagalog](/source/Tagalog_language), a grammatical form similar to the [active voice](/source/Active_voice) is formed by adding the infix ⟨um⟩ near the beginning of a verb. The most common infix is ⟨in⟩ which marks the perfect aspect, as in 'giniba', meaning 'ruined' (from '*giba*', an adjective meaning 'worn-out'); '*binato*', meaning 'stoned' (from '*bato*', 'stone'); and '*ginamit*', meaning 'used'[*[vague](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Vagueness)*]. Tagalog has borrowed the English word *graduate* as a verb; to say "I graduated" a speaker uses the derived form *gr**um**aduate*. [Khmer](/source/Khmer_language), an Austroasiatic language, has seven different infixes. They include the nominalizing infix ⟨b⟩, which derives *l**b**ɨən* 'speed' from *lɨən* 'fast' and *l**b**ɑɑng* ' trial' from *lɔɔng* 'to test, to haunt', or the agentive ⟨m⟩ deriving *c**m**am* 'watchman' from *cam* 'to watch'. The majority (but not all) of these elements are no longer productive, and occur crystallized in words inherited from [Old Khmer](/source/Old_Khmer). In [Malay](/source/Malay_language) and [Indonesian](/source/Indonesian_language), there are three infixes (*sisipan*), ⟨el⟩, ⟨em⟩, and ⟨er⟩. All infixes are no longer [productive](/source/Productivity_(linguistics)) and cannot be used to derive new words. Examples include: - The word 'gembung' (variant of 'kembung') means "bloated", while 'g**el**embung' means "bubble"'. - The word 'cerlang' means "luminous", while 'c**em**erlang' means "brilliant"'. - The word 'gigi' means "tooth", while 'g**er**igi' means "serration"'. ## Seri In [Seri](/source/Seri_language), some verbs form the plural stem with infixation of ⟨tóo⟩ after the first vowel of the root; compare the singular stem *ic* 'plant (verb)' with the plural stem *itóoc*. Examples: *itíc* 'did s/he plant it?' and *iti**tóo**c* 'did they sow it?'. ## Similar processes [Tmesis](/source/Tmesis), the use of a [lexical word](/source/Lexical_word) rather than an affix, is sometimes considered a type of infixation. These are the so-called "expletive infixes", as in *abso-bloody-lutely*. Since these are not affixes[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*], they are commonly disqualified from being considered infixes. Sequences of adfixes ([prefixes](/source/Prefix_(linguistics)) or [suffixes](/source/Suffix_(linguistics))) do not result in infixes: an infix must be internal to a [word stem](/source/Word_stem). Thus, the word *originally,* formed by adding the suffix *-ly* to *original,* does not turn the suffix *-al* into an infix. There is simply a sequence of two suffixes, *origin-al-ly.* In order for *-al-* to be considered an infix, it would have to have been inserted in the non-existent word **originly.* The "infixes" in the tradition of [Bantu](/source/Bantu_languages) linguistics are often sequences of prefixes of this type, though there may be debate over specific cases. The [Semitic languages](/source/Semitic_languages) have a form of *[ablaut](/source/Ablaut)* (changing the vowels within words, as in English *sing, sang, sung, song)* that is sometimes called infixation, as the vowels are placed between the consonants of the root. However, this interdigitation of a discontinuous root with a discontinuous affix is more often called *[transfixation](/source/Transfix)*. An *[interfix](/source/Interfix)* joins a [compound word](/source/Compound_word), as in *speed-o-meter*. ## Glossing When [glossing](/source/Interlinear_gloss), it is conventional to set off infixes with ⟨angle brackets⟩, rather than the hyphens used to set off prefixes and suffixes: - *sh⟨izn⟩it, saxo⟨ma⟩phone, pi⟨pe⟩coline* Compare: - *origin-al-ly* which contains the suffix *-ly* added to the word *original,* which is itself formed by adding the suffix *-al* to the root *origin.* ## See also For a list of words relating to infixes, see the [***Infixes by language*** category of words](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:Infixes_by_language) in [Wiktionary](/source/Wiktionary), the free dictionary. - [Circumfix](/source/Circumfix) - [Clitic](/source/Clitic) - [Expletive infixation](/source/Expletive_infixation) - [Tree traversal](/source/Tree_traversal) ## Notes 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** In mathematics, the terms prefix ("[Polish Notation](/source/Polish_Notation)") and [postfix](/source/Postfix_notation) are used. ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Luu, Chi (2015-04-28). ["Fanf-kingtastic and Edumacational: The Case of English Infixation"](https://daily.jstor.org/fanfuckingtastic-and-edumacational-the-case-of-english-infixation/). *JSTOR Daily*. Retrieved 2023-02-17. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** McMillan, James B. (1980). ["Infixing and Interposing in English"](https://www.jstor.org/stable/455082). *American Speech*. **55** (3): 163–183. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2307/455082](https://doi.org/10.2307%2F455082). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [0003-1283](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0003-1283). [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [455082](https://www.jstor.org/stable/455082). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [Yu 2004](#CITEREFYu2004) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Fort525_5-0)** [Fortson 2010](#CITEREFFortson2010), §5.25 1. **[^](#cite_ref-SzInf_6-0)** [Szemerényi 1996](#CITEREFSzemerényi1996), §9.4.1.3 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** [Burrow 2001](#CITEREFBurrow2001), p. 289 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** [Burrow 2001](#CITEREFBurrow2001), §7.8 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** [vinco](http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0059:entry=vinco). Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short. *[A Latin Dictionary](/source/A_Latin_Dictionary)* on [Perseus Project](/source/Perseus_Project). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** [λαμβάνω](https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=lamba/nw). [Liddell, Henry George](/source/Henry_Liddell); [Scott, Robert](/source/Robert_Scott_(philologist)); *[A Greek–English Lexicon](/source/A_Greek%E2%80%93English_Lexicon)* at the [Perseus Project](/source/Perseus_Project) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Akmajian, Adrian; Farmer, Ann K.; Bickmore, Lee; Demers, Richard A.; Harnish, Robert M. (2017). *Linguistics : An Introduction to Language and Communication* (7th ed.). Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780262533263](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780262533263). ## Bibliography - Fortson, Benjamin W (2010). *Indo-European Language and Culture*. Wiley-Blackwell. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-4051-8895-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4051-8895-1). - Szemerényi, Oswald JL (1996). *Introduction to Indo-European Linguistics*. Great Britain: Clarendon Oxford. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-19-824015-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-19-824015-5). - Burrow, T (2001). *The Sanskrit Language*. Motilal Banarsidass. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [81-208-1767-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/81-208-1767-2). - Yu, Alan C. L. (2004). ["Reduplication In English Homeric Infixation"](https://www.academia.edu/264805). *Proceedings of the North East Linguistic Society*. University of Massachusetts. ## Further reading - [*Alexis Amid Neme and Eric Laporte (2013), Pattern-and-root inflectional morphology: the Arabic broken plural* |year=](https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00831338) - [*Alexis Amid Neme and Eric Laporte (2015), Do computer scientists deeply understand Arabic morphology? - هل يفهم المهندسون الحاسوبيّون علم الصرف فهماً عميقاً؟*, available also in Arabic, Indonesian, French](https://www.academia.edu/13002690/Do_computer_scientists_deeply_understand_the_traditional_Arabic_morphology_%D9%87%D9%84_%D9%8A%D9%81%D9%87%D9%85_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%87%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%B3%D9%88%D9%86_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%91%D9%88%D9%86_%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%85_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B5%D8%B1%D9%81_%D9%81%D9%87%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%8B_%D8%B9%D9%85%D9%8A%D9%82%D8%A7%D9%8B_) Authority control databases: National Czech Republic Israel --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Infix](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infix) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infix?action=history)). 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