circumfix

A circumfix is a bound morpheme consisting of two parts that attach to a base word, one at the beginning and one at the end. The two parts together form a single affix that envelops the word stem rather than attaching merely at one end.

Circumfixes are used to derive new words or to mark grammatical categories such as tense, aspect, mood, or nominalization, depending on the language. They are a feature in several language families and often contrast with simple prefixes or suffixes by requiring both components to be present for the formation of the new form.

Examples help illustrate the idea. In German, many past participles are formed with the circumfix ge- and a final ending, such as machen (to make) → gemacht (made) or sehen (to see) → gesehen (seen). The circumfix surrounds the stem rather than attaching only a prefix or a suffix.

In Indonesian and Malay, circumfixes commonly surround a stem to form new words, particularly abstract nouns or adjectives. A well-known example is keindahan, formed from indah (beautiful) with the circumfix ke- … -an, yielding the meaning beauty or beautyfulness. Other circumfix patterns in these languages include combinations that create different derivational meanings around a base word.

Circumfixes are not universal to all languages and can behave differently across linguistic systems. They are studied as a type of affix that interacts with the internal structure of the word to produce new lexical or grammatical information.