Circumfixer

Circumfixer is a term occasionally used in linguistics to refer to the morpheme or process that forms a circumfix, a type of affix that attaches to a word stem at both the beginning and the end to create a new form. The more standard term for this phenomenon is circumfix. In practice, a circumfix consists of two (or more) separate affixal pieces that co-occur with a stem and function together as a single morphological unit.

A circumfix envelops the stem, typically surrounding it with a prefixal element on the left and a suffixal element on the right. The two parts are not freely usable as independent affixes in the same word; they form a combined circumfix that conveys specific grammatical or lexical meaning. Circumfixes can be used for inflectional purposes, such as marking tense or participle forms, or for derivation, such as forming nouns or adjectives from verbs or other bases. Phonological changes in the stem may accompany circumfixation, including vowel alternations or consonant adjustments.

German provides a well-known example: the past participle often takes the circumfix ge- and -en or -t around the verb stem, as in schreiben → geschrieben or lieben → geliebt. Indonesian illustrates another pattern: the circumfix ke- ... -an attaches around a root to form nouns with abstract or generalized meanings, as in kemampuan (ability) from mampu (able) or kehormatan (honor) from hormat (respect).

Circumfixes are cross-linguistically attested and can encode a variety of grammatical or semantic distinctions. They contrast with simple prefixes or suffixes that attach to a stem without surrounding it. The term circumfixer, while used in some descriptions, is less common than circumfix and generally denotes the same surrounding affixal pattern. See also circumfix, affix, infix.