Standard Lemma guide

tmesis

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /t(ə)ˈmiːsɪs/
  • /ˈmiːsɪs/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -iːsɪs

1

noun

Meaning 1

The insertion of one or more words between the components of a compound word.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, rhetoric, uncountable

Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, phonology, prosody, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: diacope

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: infixation

History

Etymology

From Late Latin tmēsis, from Ancient Greek τμῆσις (tmêsis, “a cutting”), from τέμνω (témnō, “to cut”). First attested in 1586.

Across languages

Translations

24 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: тмезис (tmezis) — insertion of one or more words between the components of a word
  • Catalan: tmesi — insertion of one or more words between the components of a word
  • Chinese Mandarin: 分字法 (fēnzìfǎ) — insertion of one or more words between the components of a word
  • Chinese Mandarin: 插詞法 /插词法 (chācífǎ) — insertion of one or more words between the components of a word
  • Dutch: tmesis — insertion of one or more words between the components of a word
  • Esperanto: tmezo — insertion of one or more words between the components of a word
  • Finnish: tmeesi — insertion of one or more words between the components of a word
  • French: tmèse — insertion of one or more words between the components of a word
  • German: Tmesis — insertion of one or more words between the components of a word
  • Greek: τμήση (tmísi) — insertion of one or more words between the components of a word
  • Irish: timéis — insertion of one or more words between the components of a word
  • Italian: tmesi — insertion of one or more words between the components of a word
  • Japanese: 切離 (kirihana) — insertion of one or more words between the components of a word
  • Latin: tmēsis — insertion of one or more words between the components of a word
  • Latin: diacopē — insertion of one or more words between the components of a word
  • Polish: tmeza — insertion of one or more words between the components of a word
  • Portuguese: tmese — insertion of one or more words between the components of a word
  • Russian: тме́зис (tmézis) — insertion of one or more words between the components of a word
  • Russian: тме́сис (tmésis) — insertion of one or more words between the components of a word
  • Serbo-Croatian: тмеза — insertion of one or more words between the components of a word
  • Serbo-Croatian: tmeza — insertion of one or more words between the components of a word
  • Spanish: tmesis — insertion of one or more words between the components of a word
  • Swedish: tmesis — insertion of one or more words between the components of a word
  • Tagalog: salingit — insertion of one or more words between the components of a word