Definition of tmesis in English:
tmesis
nounPlural tmeses ˈtmiːsɪst(ə)ˈmisəs
mass nounThe separation of parts of a compound word by an intervening word or words, used mainly in informal speech for emphasis (e.g. can't find it any-blooming-where).
Example sentencesExamples
- Isn't phrasal tmesis a syntactic equivalent of those ‘specious lines of play’ his books are filled with?
- Did I ever say how much I love a good bit of tmesis?
- A master of so many poetic devices, Humbert riddles the narrative with instances of tmesis, the figure Hartman identifies as the epitome of poetry's elided middles and overspecified ends.
- But my abso-bloody-lutely favourite way of swearing is to use bastardised tmesis - the splitting up of a compound word into parts, and then slotting a rude word in the middle.
Origin
Mid 16th century: from Greek tmēsis 'cutting', from temnein 'to cut'.