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A
The insertion of a word or phrase into the middle of another word for emphasis or comic effect — as in abso-bloody-lutely or un-freaking-believable.
— Rhetoric glossary
B
From the Greek tmesis, meaning cutting — the idea being that the compound word is cut open and another word inserted into the gap.
— Greek etymology
C
A feature of informal speech across many languages, with English expletive insertion being among the most productive forms in contemporary usage.
— Linguistics
D
Homer's Odyssey contains several examples of tmesis used as a poetic device, where compound words are separated across a line break for metrical purposes.
— Classical scholarship
E
The linguist David Crystal devoted a chapter to tmesis in his 2003 book The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language, citing it as uniquely resistant to formal grammar rules.
— Crystal, 2003