Tmesis
- “what is tmesis”
- “abso-bloody-lutely word”
- “how do you pronounce tmesis”
- “expletive infixation”
:: COMPARE ::
Classical tmesisvsExpletive infixation
The short answer
Classical tmesis pulls an existing compound apart. English infixation pushes a new word in. One is separation; the other is insertion — and only the second one is governed by stress placement.
Side by side
| Aspect | Classical tmesis | Expletive infixation |
|---|---|---|
| Operation | Separates | Inserts |
| Adds material | No | Yes |
| Governed by | Grammar | Stress |
| Language | Greek, Latin | English |
Which one you meant
Readers 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”.
Where the confusion comes from
“The classical and modern versions are the same device.”
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.
Read either one in full