postfix

English

Etymology

From post- +‎ fix.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈpəʊst.fɪks/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈpoʊst.fɪks/

Verb

postfix (third-person singular simple present postfixes, present participle postfixing, simple past and past participle postfixed)

1. (transitive) To suffix.
   • 1762, John Parkhurst, An Hebrew and English Lexicon: Without Points:

     Verbs with י for the first radical, often drop it in the future, imperative, and infinitive of Kal, to which last they postfix ת (לקח to take, follows this form), and in Niph. and Hiph. they change י into ו.

2. (biology) To subject a sample to postfixation

Noun

postfix (plural postfixes)

1. (chiefly computing) A suffix.
   • 1843, George Moody, The English journal of education‎, volume 1, page 69:

     Two, or three at the very most, of the prefixes or postfixes are quite sufficient for one day's lesson.

   • 2006, Patrick Blackburn · Johan Bos · Kristina Striegnitz, Learn Prolog Now!, §9.4

     An example of a postfix operator is the ++ notation used in the C programming language to increment the value of a variable.

2. (linguistics) In the Czech language, a suffix that is placed after the ending.

Usage notes

• Postfix is often used in programming or computing, while in the modern era suffix is used elsewhere, especially in linguistics.

Derived terms

• postfixal
• postfix notation

See also

• reverse Polish notation
• infix