Etymograph

English

transfix

Transfix comes from Latin transfigō ‘to pierce through’, and goes back to figō.

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfigō1‘to pierce’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtransfigō1‘to pierce through’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400transfixer1
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600transfixer1
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1817transfix1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English transfix
  2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1817, Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Revolt of Islam. […]: “The spear transfixed my arm that was uplifted In…”.

Lineage

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEfigōWiktionary, English transfix‘to pierce’
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEtransfigōWiktionary, English transfix‘to pierce through’
  3. Old Frenchc. 842–1400transfixerWiktionary, English transfix
  4. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600transfixerWiktionary, English transfix
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1817transfixWiktionary, English transfix. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1817, Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Revolt of Islam. […]: “The spear transfixed my arm that was uplifted In…”

Linked words

through Latin figō ‘to pierce’

fix, crucify, suffix, 13 more

Today it means

verb To render motionless, by arousing terror, amazement or awe.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “transfix”. 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 / Latin figō / transfix

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