circumfix

American  

[sur-kuhm-fiks] / ˈsɜr kəmˌfɪks /

noun

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

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verb (used with object)

1. to add a circumfix to.

Other Word Forms

• circumfixation noun

Etymology

Origin of circumfix

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