Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Separation of the parts of a compound word by one or more intervening words; for example, where I go ever instead of wherever I go.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. In grammar, a figure by which a compound word is separated into two parts, and one or more words are inserted between them: as, “of whom be thou ware also” (2 Tim. iv. 15), for “of whom beware thou also.” Also called diacope.
Wiktionary
- n. prosody The insertion of one or more words between the components of a compound word.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Gram.) The separation of the parts of a compound word by the intervention of one or more words.
Etymologies
- Coined 1586, from Late Latin tmēsis, from Ancient Greek τμῆσις (tmēsis, "a cutting"), from τέμνω (temnō, "I cut"). (Wiktionary)
- Late Latin tmēsis, from Greek, a cutting, from temnein, to cut; see tem- in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“This is called tmesis: "What man soever" we've put one word between the syllables of another word.”
“Sometimes the relative pronouns compounded with _cunque_ and _libet_ are separated by the insertion of some other word or words between them, which in grammatical language is called a tmesis -- as _quod enim cunque judicium subierat, absolvebatur; quem sors dierum cunque tibi dederit, lucre appone, _ 'whatever day chance may give thee, consider it as a gain.”
“I just put all of that stuff in the tmesis pile before you showed me that there's a whole nother category.”
“Nonetheless, tmesis reminds us (if we need to be) that in such grammatical matters -- never say never.”
“(In English only the compounds of "ever" readily lend themselves to tmesis.)”
“Wrath and I are old friends, and I've come to accept his tendency toward tmesis as an endearing personality quirk.”
“In tmesis we break a work in two, usually to put another word between the parts.”
“On the double gender of sæ, cf. Cook's Sievers 'Gram., p. 147; and note the omitted article at ll. 2381, 318, 544, with the peculiar tmesis of”
“On the double gender of sǣ, cf. Cook's Sievers 'Gram., p. 147; and note the omitted article at ll. 2381, 318, 544, with the peculiar tmesis of”
“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.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘tmesis’.
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Word Words
This used to be my nym list, but there are so many words about words, I think it's time to expand and open.
acronym, antonym, aptronym, autoantonym, autonym, bacronym, capitonym, contranym, contronym, eponym, exonym, heteronym and 120 more...
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phrontistery-t
from phrontistery.info
tyromancy, tyroma, tyroid, tyriasis, tyrannicide, typtology, typothetae, typomania, typography, typographia, typhonic, typhomania and 930 more...
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250 More Spelling Words
More words for intermediate and advanced spellers.
erethism, risus, zendik, agiotage, sciolism, fusain, mbaqanga, empyrean, chary, sialogogue, zingiber, kachina and 238 more...
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Rhetorical Devices
trope, wellerism, antimetabole, syncope, open-list, accismus, abating, abbaser, abecedarian, abcisio, ablatio, abominatio and 425 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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Lyngwistix
semantic, semiotic, linguistic, etc.
lexeme, sonorant, prosody, monophthong, portmanteau, dithyramb, inflection, deixis, mondegreen, screed, persiflage, polysemy and 42 more...
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I didn't know there was a word for that!
interdigitate, aspheric, benthos, reptation, pastiche, pandiculate, agelast, obdormition, dysania, armscye, phosphene, etiolation and 62 more...
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[Open] There’s a word for that.
These are uncommon names for common things. They have definitions one wouldn’t be surprised to see in The Meaning of Liff (or its sequel, or attached to one of those bastard children thereof, snig...
epaulette, epaulet, ing, aboiement, aglet, googlegänger, maschalephidrosis, culicino, plurale tantum, hypergelast, skeuomorph, hey rube and 7 more...
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Grammar, language, linguistics, rhetoric
backronym, Logogriph, logodaedaly, Acrostic, tmesis, pleonasm, sesquipedality, periphrasis, peroration, solecism, longueur, periphrastic and 15 more...
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SweetZingiber's list
tmesis, dilatory, palzogony, levigate, syzygy, iteration, frizzle, carraque, equipoise, paean, rictus, saturnine
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Words about Words
backronym, contranym, haplology, enallage, paronomasia, scripturient, ambigram, idioglossia, dysphemism, tmesis, panvocalic, caconym and 10 more...
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Words So Useful That They Would be Ov...
gardyloo, avunculize, prorogue, mortmain, growlery, accubitus, harridan, illeism, apophasis, tmesis, palimpsest, catmalison and 7 more...
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Words I Intend to use.
selectarian, solastalgia, niefling, eldritch, santagnostic, laborious, obstreperous, quibble, inusitate, cacology, tmesis, cacoethes and 50 more...
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WF - all types of word formation
My ambition is to build a list with the names for
1. ALL types of word formation
2. the words put together by 1.
using a strict definition: e.g. "antonym", "aptronym" "palindrom...camel case, incapping, suffixing, capitalization, compound, agglutination, back-formation, blending, acronym, clipping, calque, semantic loan and 56 more...
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Fun-Sounding Words
oscillation, elation, axolotl, saleratus, tmesis, epeolatry, trothplight, just for fun, nyctalgia, hendiadys, anaptyxis, haplology and 5 more...
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All The Words
I enjoy collecting words, for I have no fear of them ever running out.
anacoluthon, defenestration, hypnopomp, hypnagogue, idioglossia, panopticon, tatterdemalion, abalone, caltrop, miasma, paroxysm, smalt and 476 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for tmesis.

jmjarmstrong JM hates tme-bloody-sis. Mar 23, 2011
sionnach "You can always tell a cuckoo from Bridge End .... it goes cuck-BLOODY-OO, cuck-BLOODY-OO, cuck-BLOODY-OO."
Dylan Thomas, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog Nov 19, 2008
chained_bear Does supercalifreakinawesome work? Aug 18, 2008
sarra Come on. Tfuckingmesis. Aug 17, 2008
shevek Infuckingcredible! Aug 17, 2008
yarb Fanfuckingtastic is my fave. Oct 4, 2007
chained_bear Or unfuckinbelievable. Oct 4, 2007
reesetee When we were kids and were told to behave, we'd reply with, "But I am being hayve!" ;-) Oct 3, 2007
skipvia How about "abso freakin' lutely?"
See also dystmesis. Oct 3, 2007
oroboros Separation of the parts of a compound word by one or more intervening words; for example, "where I go ever" instead of "wherever I go". Apr 7, 2007
amcd56 "West By God Virginia" is the one my father used to say. Mar 8, 2007