Tmesis (from
Ancient GreekAncient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic , Classical , and Hellenistic periods of ancient Greece and the ancient world. It is predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
tmēsis, "a cutting" <
temnō, "I cut") is a linguistic phenomenon or
figure of speechA figure of speech is a use of a word that diverges from its normal meaning, or a phrase with a specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning of the words in it such as a metaphor, simile, or personification. Figures of speech often provide emphasis, freshness of expression, or clarity...
in which a word or set phrase is separated into two parts, with other words occurring between them.
Tmesis of prefixed verbs (whereby the prefix is separated from the simple verb) was an original feature of the
Ancient GreekAncient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic , Classical , and Hellenistic periods of ancient Greece and the ancient world. It is predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
language, common in
HomerHomer is a legendary ancient Greek epic poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey...
(and later poetry), but not used in
AtticAttic Greek is the prestige dialect of Ancient Greek that was spoken in Attica, which includes Athens. Of the ancient dialects, it is the most similar to later Greek, and is the standard form of the language studied in courses of "Ancient Greek"...
prose.
Tmesis (from
Ancient GreekAncient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic , Classical , and Hellenistic periods of ancient Greece and the ancient world. It is predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
tmēsis, "a cutting" <
temnō, "I cut") is a linguistic phenomenon or
figure of speechA figure of speech is a use of a word that diverges from its normal meaning, or a phrase with a specialized meaning not based on the literal meaning of the words in it such as a metaphor, simile, or personification. Figures of speech often provide emphasis, freshness of expression, or clarity...
in which a word or set phrase is separated into two parts, with other words occurring between them.
Tmesis of compound verbs
Tmesis of prefixed verbs (whereby the prefix is separated from the simple verb) was an original feature of the
Ancient GreekAncient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic , Classical , and Hellenistic periods of ancient Greece and the ancient world. It is predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
language, common in
HomerHomer is a legendary ancient Greek epic poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey...
(and later poetry), but not used in
AtticAttic Greek is the prestige dialect of Ancient Greek that was spoken in Attica, which includes Athens. Of the ancient dialects, it is the most similar to later Greek, and is the standard form of the language studied in courses of "Ancient Greek"...
prose. Such
separable verbA separable verb is a verb that is composed of a verb stem and a separable affix. In some verb forms, the verb appears in one word, whilst in others the verb stem and the affix are separated. German, Dutch, and Hungarian are notable for having many separable verbs.
For example, the Dutch verb...
s are also part of the normal grammatical usage of some modern languages, such as German.
Tmesis is found as a poetic or rhetorical device in classical
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
poetry, such as
OvidPublius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who wrote about love, seduction, and mythological transformation....
's
Metamorphoses. Words such as
circumdare, to surround, are split apart with other words of the sentence in between, e.g.
circum virum dant: "they surround the man". This device is used in this way to create a visual image of surrounding the man by means of the words on the line.
Tmesis in Ancient Greek
Tmesis in
Ancient GreekAncient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic , Classical , and Hellenistic periods of ancient Greece and the ancient world. It is predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
is somewhat of a misnomer, since there is not necessarily a splitting of the prefix from the verb; rather the consensus now seems to be that the separate prefix or pre-verb reflects a stage in the language where the prefix had not yet joined on to the verb. There are many examples in Homer's epics, the
IliadThe Iliad is an epic poem recounting significant events during a portion of the final year of the Trojan War — the Greek siege of the city of Ilion — hence the title...
and the
OdysseyThe Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work traditionally ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon. Indeed it is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of...
, both of which preserve archaic features. One common and oft-cited example is
kata dakrua leibōn "shedding tears", in which the pre-verb
kata "down" has not yet joined the verbal participle
leibōn "shedding". In later Greek, these would combine to form the compound verb
kataleibōn "shedding (in a downwards direction)".
Tmesis in English
One kind of tmesis involves the insertion of a word or phrase into another word, often for humorous effect. The insertion may occur between the parts of a compound word, or between
syllableA syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. For example, the word water is composed of two syllables: wa and ter. A syllable is typically made up of a syllable nucleus with optional initial and final margins .Syllables are often considered the phonological "building...
boundaries (dystmesis).
It is also sometimes referred to as
tumbarumba, possibly due to the popularity of tmesis in Australian speech (Tumbarumba being an Australian town), or possibly due to the poem "Tumba Bloody Rumba" by
John O'GradyJohn Patrick O'Grady was an Australian writer. His works include the comic novel They're a Weird Mob and the poem The Integrated Adjective, sometimes known as Tumba-bloody-rumba...
, which includes several tmeses including "Tumba-bloody-rumba", "e-bloody-nough", and "kanga-bloody-roos".
Linguists sometimes describe tmesis as a form of
infixAn infix is an affix inserted inside a stem . It contrasts with adfix, a rare term for an affix attached to the outside of a stem, such as a prefix or suffix.-Infixes in English:...
ation.
Examples
Representative
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
examples include:
- "Abso-fuckin-lutely" in which an expletive
The word expletive is currently used in three senses: syntactic expletives, expletive attributives, and "bad language".The word expletive comes from the Latin verb explere, meaning "to fill", via expletivus, "filling out"...
or profanityThe original meaning of the adjective profane referred to items not belonging to the church, e.g...
is inserted; see Expletive infixationExpletive infixation is a process by which an expletive or profanity is inserted into a word, usually for intensification. It is similar to tmesis, but not all instances are covered by the usual definition of tmesis because the words are not necessarily compounds.The most commonly inserted English...
.
- "Guaran-damn-tee" in which an expletive
The word expletive is currently used in three senses: syntactic expletives, expletive attributives, and "bad language".The word expletive comes from the Latin verb explere, meaning "to fill", via expletivus, "filling out"...
or profanityThe original meaning of the adjective profane referred to items not belonging to the church, e.g...
is inserted for humor and/or emphasis; see Expletive infixationExpletive infixation is a process by which an expletive or profanity is inserted into a word, usually for intensification. It is similar to tmesis, but not all instances are covered by the usual definition of tmesis because the words are not necessarily compounds.The most commonly inserted English...
. As above.
- "La-dee-freakin'-da", a variation of the above in which a less offensive infix is substituted. This phrase was popularized by fictional character Matt Foley
Matt Foley is a fictional motivational speaker from the sketch comedy program Saturday Night Live performed by Chris Farley. The character was created by Bob Odenkirk, although Farley had performed the character in other comedy groups before being a cast member on Saturday Night...
, portrayed by Chris FarleyChristopher Crosby "Chris" Farley was an American comedian and actor. He was a member at Chicago's Second City Theatre and the cast of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live...
on Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a weekly late-night sketch comedy and variety show filmed in New York City. It made its debut on October 11, 1975, under a slightly different title. The show features a regular cast of comedy actors, joined by a guest host and musical act...
.
- "Wel-diddly-elcome", a signature phrase of fictional character Ned Flanders
Nedward "Ned" Flanders is a recurring fictional character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Harry Shearer, and first appeared in the series premiere episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire". He is the next door neighbor to the Simpson family and is generally loathed...
', where a nonsense word is inserted. Note the reduplicationReduplication, in linguistics, is a morphological process by which the root or stem of a word, or part of it, is repeated.Reduplication is used in inflections to convey a grammatical function, such as plurality, intensification, etc., and in lexical derivation to create new words...
of part of the host word.
- "Any-old-how", in which the divisibility of "anything" (as in "any old thing") is mimicked with the usually indivisible "anyhow".
- "A-whole-nother", in which another (an+other) is reanalyzed as a+nother.
- "Legen-wait for it-dary", in which the phrase "wait for it" is inserted into the word Legendary. This phrase was popularized by Barney Stinson
Barney Stinson is a fictional character created by Carter Bays and Craig Thomas for the CBS television series How I Met Your Mother, portrayed by Neil Patrick Harris.- Role on How I Met Your Mother :...
on How I Met Your MotherHow I Met Your Mother is an Emmy Award winning American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005. The show was created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays...
.
- "Abso-bloody-exactly", a humorous misuse of infixation by fictional character Alan Partridge
Alan Gordon Partridge is a fictional television and radio presenter portrayed by English comedian Steve Coogan and invented by Coogan, Armando Iannucci, Stewart Lee and Richard Herring for the BBC Radio 4 programme On The Hour...
.