tmesis

[tuh-mee-sis]

noun

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

tmesis

/ ˈmiːsɪs, təˈmiːsɪs /

noun

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

Other Word Forms

• tmetic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of tmesis¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of tmesis¹

C16: via Latin from Greek, literally: a cutting, from temnein to cut

Example Sentences

What the grammarians called “tmesis,” the separation of the preposition from the verb with which it is compounded, is peculiar to Homer.

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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.

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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."

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

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