tmesis

American  

[tuh-mee-sis] / təˈmi sɪs /

noun

1. the interpolation of one or more words between the parts of a compound word, as be thou ware for beware.

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tmesis British  

/ ˈmiːsɪs, təˈmiːsɪs /

noun

1. interpolation of a word or group of words between the parts of a compound word

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Other Word Forms

• tmetic adjective

Etymology

Origin of tmesis

First recorded in 1580–90; from Late Latin tmēsis, from Greek tmêsis “a cutting,” equivalent to tmē- (variant stem of témnein “to cut”) + -sis -sis

Explanation

Tmesis is splitting a word in two and inserting another word between the halves. In George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion, the character Eliza Doolittle uses tmesis when she says, "Abso-bloomin-lutely!" There are examples of tmesis throughout literature, from Shakespeare to contemporary television. When The Simpsons character Ned Flanders says something like "Wel-diddly-elcome," that's an awkward kind of tmesis. And anyone who says, "A whole nother thing" is also using tmesis, sticking the word "whole" right in the middle of "another." In Greek, tmesis means "a cutting."

Example Sentences

When accompanied by the preposition kita, "with," there is a tmesis of the preposition, and the pronouns are placed between its first and second syllable; e.g. vi, him''-ki-ni-ta, "with him."

From The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, Vol 1. (of 7): Chaldaea The History, Geography, And Antiquities Of Chaldaea, Assyria, Babylon, Media, Persia, Parthia, And Sassanian or New Persian Empire; With Maps and Illustrations. by Rawlinson, George

I could see that the figure called, I think, tmesis, or cutting, had been generously employed; the exuberances of the local correspondent had been pruned by a Fleet Street expert.

From The Great Return by Machen, Arthur

The use of tmesis, asyndeton, anacoluthon, aposiopesis, hyperbaton, hyperbole, litotes, in Latin oratory and poetry.

From The History of Roman Literature From the earliest period to the death of Marcus Aurelius by Cruttwell, Charles Thomas

I do not think the poet would have hazarded a construction so doubtful, that we might take ἐπὶ either with ἄνδρας, ἐχθροῖς, or by tmesis, with ἄξω.

From Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound and the Seven Against Thebes by Buckley, Theodore Alois