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I would like to get a single word which means suffix or prefix.
I am creating a database table, which has columns - 'suffix' and 'prefix.'
I would like to name the table in such a way that on seeing the table name one should understand that the table has a collection of suffixes and/or prefixes.

Kris
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Rohith
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3 Answers3

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Affix

an additional element placed at the beginning or end of a root, stem, or word, or in the body of a word, to modify its meaning.

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    Affix is not entirely accurate as it includes infixes; wiktionary suggests "adfix" but I guess it's a less common term (as I'd never heard it before) – blgt Jul 30 '14 at 09:50
  • Affix is no more than Ad + figere so even adfix would be understandable. :) – Kris Jul 30 '14 at 12:25
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    @blgt : the word indeed exists; thank you for the additional information. The Wiktionary page on affix classifies adfix as a hyponym of affix. ( http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/affix) – Autoresponder Jul 30 '14 at 13:10
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If you expressly exclude infixes, such that the set contains only prefixes and suffixes, then the group would be adfix, a subset of affix.

adfix (plural adfixes)
A type of affix, which is attached to the outside of a stem (an existing word), to form a new word. The adfix category branches into prefixes (ones which appear before the stem) and suffixes (ones which appear after the stem). [emphasis added]

Kris
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    Thanks for the answer. This word is new to me. I am choosing affix due to the popularity of the word. I think the word adfix is unknown to masses. – Rohith Jul 30 '14 at 12:45
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    @Rohith Understandable. Even infix is less widely known. – Kris Jul 30 '14 at 12:48
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Affix is appropriate. Per wiktionary, it means:

(linguistics) A bound morpheme added to a word’s stem; formerly applied only to suffixes (also called postfixes), the term as now used comprises prefixes, suffixes, infixes, circumfixes, and suprafixes.

Per wikipedia,

An affix is a morpheme that is attached to a word stem to form a new word. Affixes may be derivational, like English -ness and pre-, or inflectional, like English plural -s and past tense -ed. They are bound morphemes by definition; prefixes and suffixes may be separable affixes. Affixation is, thus, the linguistic process speakers use to form different words by adding morphemes (affixes) at the beginning (prefixation), the middle (infixation) or the end (suffixation) of words.