Affixation

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act of joining or attaching elements, particularly in linguistics, where prefixes or suffixes are added to root words to modify their meaning or function
2. A method whereby one element is securely attached to another, especially in the context of language formation through the addition of morphemes like prefixes and suffixes
3. The process of adding a linguistic element to a base word involves affixing components such as prefixes or suffixes to alter meaning or grammatical function

Etymology: "Affixation" is a plain English formation: the noun "affix" with the suffix "-ation" added to it. The suffix comes through Old French "-ation" from Latin "-ātiō", a noun-forming ending that turns verbs into names for actions or processes, so the word names the act of attaching something to something else. The base word "affix" goes back to Latin "affīgere", built from "ad", meaning "to" or "toward", and "figere", "to fasten" or "fix in place." Its past participle "affīxus" gave English the verb "affix" in the sense of fastening one thing onto another, and "affixation" follows that same logic: it is the process of fastening. In linguistics, the word has a narrower sense. It refers to the process of adding affixes, the prefixes, suffixes and infixes that change a base word's meaning or grammatical role, as in adding "un-" to "happy" or "-ness" to "happy" to make "happiness." The technical sense is a modern narrowing of the broader general meaning of attaching one thing to another.

Synonyms: attachment, addition

Antonyms: detachment