English
tmesis
Tmesis comes from Late Latin tmēsis ‘the separation of a word, tmesis’, from Ancient Greek τμῆσις ‘a cutting’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *temh₁- ‘to cut’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*temh₁-1‘to cut’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tm̥-né-h₁-ti1reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτέμνω2témnō‘to cut’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτμῆσις2tmêsis‘a cutting’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEtmēsis2‘the separation of a word, tmesis’
- Englishtodaytmesis2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek τέμνω
- 2 Wiktionary, English tmesis
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*temh₁-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek τέμνω‘to cut’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*tm̥-né-h₁-tiWiktionary, Ancient Greek τέμνωreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτέμνωWiktionary, English tmesistémnō‘to cut’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτμῆσιςWiktionary, English tmesistmêsis‘a cutting’
- Late Latinc. 200–600 CEtmēsisWiktionary, English tmesis‘the separation of a word, tmesis’
- EnglishtodaytmesisWiktionary, English tmesis
first attested First attested in 1586 (as stated in Wiktionary’s etymology)
The story
First attested in 1586.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *temh₁- ‘to cut’
contempt, templar, tempestuous, 34 more
through Ancient Greek τέμνω ‘to cut’
Today it means
noun The insertion of one or more words between the components of a compound word.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “tmesis”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek τέμνω. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *temh₁- / tmesis