Tmesis
- “what is tmesis”
- “abso-bloody-lutely word”
- “how do you pronounce tmesis”
- “expletive infixation”
| Aspect | Classical tmesis | Expletive infixation |
|---|---|---|
| Operation | Separates | Inserts |
| Adds material | No | Yes |
| Governed by | Grammar | Stress |
| Language | Greek, Latin | English |
In shortReaders who land here meaning Tmesis rather than Expletive infixation are usually searching for phrases like “what is tmesis”, “abso-bloody-lutely word”, “how do you pronounce tmesis”.
Classical tmesis separates a compound or splits a verb from its prefix — a grammatical feature of Greek and Latin. English expletive infixation inserts a whole extra word inside a single word. The infixation literature analyses these as morphological insertion rather than classical prefix-separation — though reference works usually file both under the one name.