Affix
Affix
Affix (/əˈfɪks/, from Latin affixus, past participle of affigere "to fasten to, attach") is a morpheme that is attached to a word stem to form a new word or word form. Affixes may be derivational, like English -ness and pre-, or inflectional, like English plural -ing and past tense -ed. They are bound morphemes by definition; prefixes and suffixes may be separable affixes.
Types of Affixes
Affixes can be classified into several types:
- Prefix: An affix attached before the base word. Example: unhappy, redo.
- Suffix: An affix attached after the base word. Example: happiness, reading.
- Infix: An affix inserted within the base word. This is not common in English but is found in some other languages.
- Circumfix: An affix attached both before and after the base word. This is also not common in English.
Usage in Medicine
In the field of medicine, affixes are often used to create new terms based on root words. For example, the prefix hyper- indicates an excess or exaggeration, while the suffix -osis indicates a condition or disease. Thus, the medical term hyperthyroidism refers to a condition of an overactive thyroid.
Related Terms
- Morpheme: The smallest grammatical unit in a language that carries meaning.
- Stem (linguistics): The part of the word that affixes are added to.
- Root (linguistics): The most basic part of a word from which other words are formed.
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Affix
- Wikipedia's article - Affix
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