affixing

EN
noun
verb

🇺🇸

/əˈfɪksɪŋ/

🇺🇸

/əˈfɪksɪŋ/

🇬🇧

/əˈfɪksɪŋ/

🇬🇧

/əˈfɪksɪŋ/

Word Forms

Plural

affixings

Past Tense

affixed

Past Participle

affixed

Gerund

affixing

3rd Person

affixes

Description

Affixing is the act of attaching or fastening something—like a label, stamp, or signature—to another object or document; it's commonly used in administrative, linguistic, and manufacturing contexts. For example, when you tape a return address label to an envelope, you're affixing it.

Examples

The clerk spent the morning affixing postage stamps to hundreds of international packages.

Before submitting the contract, she carefully affixed her digital signature to the final page.

In linguistics, affixing a suffix like '-ness' changes an adjective into a noun, as in 'kind' → 'kindness'.

Workers affixed safety decals to every machine in the factory to comply with new regulations.

He hesitated before affixing his wet fingerprint to the official form.

Root

fig

Comes from the Latin verb 'figere', meaning 'to fix', 'to fasten', or 'to attach'. This root conveys the core idea of securing, joining, or setting something firmly in place. Examples include affix, prefix, suffix, infix, configure, crucify (literally 'to fix to a cross'), and figure (originally 'a form fixed in space'). Core meaning summary: 'to fix or attach'.

ad

Comes from the Latin prefix 'ad-', meaning 'to' or 'toward'. It indicates direction, addition, or proximity. In 'affix', it combines with 'figere' to form 'adfigere' → 'affigere', meaning 'to attach to'. Other examples include add, admire, adjust, address, and adhesive.