affix

See also: Affix

English

Affixes. Italo-Greek Vase in the Campana Collection (Louvres Museum)

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin affixus, perfect passive participle of affigere (from ad- + figere), equivalent to ad- +‎ fix.

Pronunciation

• (noun) IPA^(key): /ˈæf.ɪks/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• (verb) IPA^(key): /əˈfɪks/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪks

Noun

affix (plural affixes)

1. That which is affixed; an appendage.

   Synonyms: addition, supplement; see also Thesaurus:adjunct

2. (linguistic morphology) A bound morpheme added to the word’s stem's end.

   Synonym: adfix

   Hyponyms: suffix, postfix

3. (linguistic morphology, broadly) A bound morpheme added to a word’s stem; a prefix, suffix, etc.

   Synonym: afformative

   Antonym: nonaffix

   Hyponyms: prefix, suffix, infix, circumfix, suprafix

4. (mathematics) The complex number $a+bi$ associated with the point in the Gauss plane with coordinates $(a,b)$.
5. (decorative art) Any small feature, as a figure, a flower, or the like, added for ornament to a vessel or other utensil, to an architectural feature.

Coordinate terms

• (types of affixes): adfix, ambifix, circumfix, confix, disfix, duplifix, infix, interfix, libfix, postfix, prefix, prefixoid, simulfix, suffix, suffixoid, suprafix, transfix
• clitic

Derived terms

• separable affix

Translations

that which is affixed

• Bulgarian: прибавка (bg) (pribavka), придатък (bg) (pridatǎk)
• Catalan: afix (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 附加物 (zh) (fùjiāwù)

• Dutch: affix (nl) n, aanhangsel (nl) n
• Finnish: lisä (fi), lisäke (fi), uloke (fi)
• French: affixe (fr) f
• German: Anhang (de) m, Anhängsel (de) n
• Greek: προσθήκη (el) f (prosthíki)
• Japanese: 付属物 (ふぞくぶつ, fuzokubutsu)
• Kyrgyz: кошулма (koşulma)
• Portuguese: afixo (pt) m
• Romanian: afix (ro) n
• Russian: добавле́ние (ru) n (dobavlénije), дополне́ние (ru) n (dopolnénije), прида́ток (ru) n (pridátok)
• Serbo-Croatian: додатак m, dodatak (sh) m
• Swahili: kiambishi (sw)
• Tagalog: maylapi (tl)
• Yoruba: àfòmọ́

suffix — see suffix

linguistics: a bound morpheme added to a word’s stem

• Arabic: أَفِكْس‎ (ʔafiks)
• Armenian: ածանց (hy) (acancʿ)
• Azerbaijani: şəkilçi (az)
• Bulgarian: наставка (bg) (nastavka)
• Catalan: afix (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 詞綴／词缀 (zh) (cízhuì)

• Czech: afix m
• Danish: affiks
• Dutch: affix (nl) n
• Esperanto: afikso
• Finnish: affiksi (fi)
• French: affixe (fr) f
• Georgian: აფიქსი sg (apiksi)
• German: Affix (de) n, Zusatzsilbe f
• Greek: παράθημα (el) n (paráthima)
• Hebrew: מוּסָפִית‎ (he) m (musafít)
• Hungarian: toldalék (hu)
• Icelandic: aðskeyti
• Indonesian: imbuhan (id)
• Italian: confisso (it) m
• Japanese: 接辞 (ja) (せつじ, setsuji)
• Kazakh: қосымша (kk) (qosymşa)
• Khmer: ផ្នត់ (km) (phnott)
• Korean: 접사(接辭) (ko) (jeopsa)
• Kyrgyz: кошумча (ky) (koşumça)
• Latvian: dēklis m (dated)
• Norwegian: affiks (no) n
• Polish: formant m, zrostek (pl) m, afiks (pl) m
• Portuguese: afixo (pt) m
• Romanian: afix (ro) n
• Russian: а́ффикс (ru) m (áffiks)
• Scottish Gaelic: leasachan m
• Serbo-Croatian: афикс m, afiks (sh) m
• Spanish: afijo (es) m
• Swedish: affix (sv) n
• Tagalog: panlapi (tl)
• Telugu: ప్రత్యయము (te) (pratyayamu)
• Turkish: ek (tr)
• Vietnamese: phụ tố (vi) (輔素)
• Volapük: yümot (vo)
• Walloon: stitchete (wa) f (neologism)
• Welsh: dodiad m

mathematics: the complex number associated to a point

• Dutch: affix (nl) n
• Romanian: afix (ro) n
• Russian: а́ффикс (ru) m (áffiks)
• Swahili: kiambishi (sw)

Verb

affix (third-person singular simple present affixes, present participle affixing, simple past and past participle affixed)

1. (transitive) To attach.

   Synonyms: join, put together, unite; see also Thesaurus:join

   to affix a stigma to a person

   to affix ridicule or blame to somebody

   • 1691, John Ray, The Wisdom of God Manifested in the Works of the Creation. […], London: […] Samuel Smith, […], →OCLC:

     Should they [caterpillars] affix them to the leaves of a plant improper for their food […]

2. (transitive) To subjoin, annex, or add at the close or end; to append to.

   to affix a syllable to a word

   to affix a seal to an instrument

   to affix one's name to a writing

3. (transitive) To fix or fasten figuratively; with on or upon.

   eyes affixed upon the ground

   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, An Hymn of Heavenly Beauty:

     Look thou no further, but affix thine eye/On that bright, shiny, round, still moving mass,/The house of blessed gods, which men call sky,/All sow'd with glist'ring stars more thick than grass...

Translations

to attach

• Bulgarian: прикрепям (bg) (prikrepjam), закрепвам (bg) (zakrepvam)
• Dutch: vastmaken (nl) aan (nl), aanhangen (nl)
• German: befestigen (de), anheften (de), anbringen (de)
• Greek: κολλάω (el) (kolláo), κολλώ (el) (kolló)
• Portuguese: afixar (pt)
• Russian: прикрепля́ть (ru) (prikrepljátʹ)
• Spanish: fijar (es), pegar (es)

Further reading

• affix on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Dutch

Etymology

Ultimately from Latin affixum. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɑ.fɪks/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: af‧fix

Noun

affix n (plural affixen, diminutive affixje n)

1. Affix (linguistics and mathematics)

Descendants

• → Indonesian: afiks

Swedish

Noun

affix n

1. an affix

Declension

Declension of affix
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	affix	affixet	affix	affixen
Genitive	affix	affixets	affix	affixens