-k-

English

Interfix

-k-

1. (orthography) An interfix added when a word ending in -c receives a suffix beginning with -e, -i, or -y, to keep the hard c sound that would otherwise be transmuted into soft c by the newly succeeding letter (according to the norms of standard English orthography); the relevant suffixes are -ed, -ing, -er, and -y. For example, a mimic is someone who mimics someone else, and such a mimicker is mimicking them (note the -k- in the last two forms).
2. (pharmacology) Alternative form of -kin-.

Derived terms

English words interfixed with -k-

See also

• -i-
• -o-