In linguistic morphology, a transfix is a discontinuous affix, which occurs at more than one position in a word. The prototypical example comes from the Semitic languages, where nearly all word derivation and inflection involves the interdigitation of a discontinuous root with a discontinuous affix. For example, derivations and inflections of the Maltese discontinuous triliteral root |k-t-b| (to write)[1] are shown below:
| transfix | word | gloss |
|---|---|---|
| -i-e- | kiteb | "he wrote" |
| -i--u | kitbu | "they wrote" |
| mi--u- | miktub | "written" |
| --ie- | ktieb | "book" |
| -o--a | kotba | "books" |