circumfix

[sur-kuhm-fiks]

noun

1. a prefix and a suffix attached to a root or stem, as the a and -ing in a-going.

verb (used with object)

1. to add a circumfix to.

Other Word Forms

• circumfixation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of circumfix¹

First recorded in 1970–75; circum- ( def. ) + -fix, abstracted from affix ( def. ), suffix ( def. )