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transfix

 - 3 dictionary results

trans⋅fix

  [trans-fiks]
Use transfix in a Sentence
–verb (used with object), -fixed or fixt, fix⋅ing.
1. to make or hold motionless with amazement, awe, terror, etc.
2. to pierce through with or as if with a pointed weapon; impale.
3. to hold or fasten with or on something that pierces.
Origin:
1580–90; < L trānsfīxus (ptp. of trānsfīgere to pierce through), equiv. to trāns- trans- + fīg(ere) to pierce + -sus, var. of -tus ptp. suffix

Related forms:
trans⋅fix⋅ion  [trans-fik-shuhn] , noun

Synonyms:
1. fascinate, spellbind, engross, captivate, enthrall.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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trans·fix   (trāns-fĭks')   
tr.v.   trans·fixed, trans·fix·ing, trans·fix·es

  1. To pierce with or as if with a pointed weapon.

  2. To fix fast; impale.

  3. To render motionless, as with terror, amazement, or awe.


[Latin trānsfīgere, trānsfīx- : trāns-, trans- + fīgere, to pierce, fasten; see dhīgw- in Indo-European roots.]
trans·fix'ion (-fĭk'shən) n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

transfix 
1590, "pierce through, impale," from M.Fr. transfixer, from L. transfixus "impaled," pp. of transfigere "to impale, pierce through," from trans- "through" + figere "to fix, fasten" (see fix). Fig. sense of "make motionless or helpless, as with amazement, terror, or grief" is first recorded 1649.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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