Affixes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Linguistic elements added to a root word to change its meaning or function are known as these
2. These are morphemes that enhance or modify the meaning of a base word when attached at its beginning or end
3. Elements attached to a root word to alter its sense or grammatical role

Etymology: "Affixes" is the plural of "affix", a noun for a word part attached to a base, such as a prefix or suffix. The singular comes from Latin "affixus", the past participle of "affigere", meaning "to fasten to". That verb was built from "ad-", "to", and "figere", "to fix or fasten", so the original sense was physical attachment: something driven or stuck onto something else. English took the word over with that literal meaning, and only later did it come to describe the pieces of language themselves. Grammarians use it as an umbrella term because a prefix or suffix is literally fastened onto a base word, much as a nail is driven into wood. The English word "fix" itself comes from the same Latin root, so the two share a common ancestor, even though "fix" arrived by a different route.

Synonyms: attachments, appendages