affix

/'æfiks/
Học thuật
Thân thiện
affix

He carefully affixes the stamp to the envelope.

Definition
  1. Noun:

    • A linguistic element added to a word: An "affix" is a bound morpheme attached to a word stem to modify its meaning or create a new word. It cannot stand alone as an independent word.
  2. Verb:

    • To attach or fasten something to something else: This is the general meaning, referring to the physical act of attaching one item to another.
    • To attach a linguistic element to a word stem: In grammar, "affix" means to add a prefix, suffix, or infix to a base word to form an inflected or derived form.
Usage Examples
  • Noun (Linguistics):

    • In the word "unhappiness," "un-" and "-ness" are affixes.
    • Prefixes and suffixes are the most common types of affixes in English.
  • Verb (General Attachment):

    • Please affix the stamp to the upper right corner of the envelope.
    • The worker will affix the label to the package.
  • Verb (Linguistics):

    • Some languages affix markers to verbs to indicate tense.
    • To form the past tense, we affix "-ed" to many regular verbs.
Advanced Usage
  • "Affix to": This is the standard prepositional phrase used with the verb.
    • You must affix your signature to the document.
    • Grammatical markers are affixed to the root word.
Variants and Related Words
  • Affixation (n): The process of adding an affix to a word.
    • The affixation of "-able" to "read" creates "readable."
  • Prefix (n): An affix placed before a word stem (e.g., in ).
  • Suffix (n): An affix placed after a word stem (e.g., in ).
  • Infix (n): An affix inserted into the middle of a word stem (rare in English but common in some languages).
Synonyms
  • Attach (v): To fasten or join one thing to another.
  • Append (v): To add something, especially to the end of a written document.
  • Prefix/Suffix (n): Specific types of affixes.
Related Phrasal Verbs
  • Affix to: The primary and almost exclusive phrasal structure for the verb.
    • The certificate is not valid until you affix the official seal to it.
affix

He carefully affixes the stamp to the envelope.

Noun
  1. a linguistic element added to a word to produce an inflected or derived form
Verb
  1. attach or become attached to a stem word
    • grammatical morphemes affix to the stem
  2. add to the very end
    • He appended a glossary to his novel where he used an invented language
  3. attach to
    • affix the seal here