Word of the Day for Monday December 12, 2005
tmesis \TMEE-sis\, noun:
In grammar and rhetoric, the separation of the parts of a
compound word, now generally done for humorous effect; for
example, "what place soever" instead of "whatsoever place," or
"abso-bloody-lutely."
If on the first, how heinous e'er it be,
To win thy after-love I pardon thee.
--Shakespeare, Richard II
His income-tax return, he remarked, was the "most rigged-up
marole" he'd ever seen.
--Frederic Packard
In two words, im possible.
--Samuel Goldwyn
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Tmesis is from Greek tmesis, "a cutting," from temnein, "to
cut."
Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=9&q=tmesis
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