Interesting Affixes: -JACENT

When you're wondering where something is...

Saturdays are perfect days for nearby surprises. Surprise—we’re talking about the interesting affix -JACENT today!

The root JAC- meaning to lie or rest is a more gentle variant of the root JECT- meaning throw or impel. When combined with the suffix -ENT, we have an affix that can be used to describe where one thing is in relation to another:

adjacent (adj) - close, near, or next to something
BREAKDOWN: AD- (to) + JAC- (to lie or rest) + -ENT (being)

circumjacent (adj) - surrounding or adjacent on all sides
BREAKDOWN: CIRCUM- (around) + JAC- (to lie or rest) + -ENT (being)

conjacent (adj) - lying together or in close proximity; cohesive or compact
BREAKDOWN: CON- (with) + JAC- (to lie or rest) + -ENT (being)

interjacent (adj) - lying or located between or among; intervening
BREAKDOWN: INTER- (between, among) + JAC- (to lie or rest) + -ENT (being)

subjacent (adj) - lying lower than, under, or below
BREAKDOWN: SUB- (below) + JAC- (to lie or rest) + -ENT (being)

superjacent (adj) - lying over, above, or upon
BREAKDOWN: SUPER- (over) + JAC- (to lie or rest) + -ENT (being)

As a bonus, you can replace -ENT with -ENCY in any of these words to create a noun that describes the state of lying in a particular position:

adjacency (noun) - the quality of being near, next to, or touching
BREAKDOWN: AD- (to) + JAC- (to lie or rest) + -ENCY (state of)

“Whatever motion appears in the firmament arises not from any motion of the firmament, but from the earth’s motion. The earth together with its circumjacent elements performs a complete rotation on its fixed poles in a daily motion, while the firmament and highest heaven abide unchanged.” –Nicolaus Copernicus