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prefix

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: préfix

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology 1

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Borrowed from Late Latin praefīxum, from Latin praefīxus, past participle of praefīgō (“to (fix, fasten, set up) in front”, “to fix on the (end, extremity)”) (from prae- (“before”) + fīgō (“to fix”, “to fasten”, “to affix”)), equivalent to pre- +‎ -fix. Doublet of the archaic synonym prefixum.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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prefix (plural prefixes)

  1. Something placed before another
    1. (grammar, linguistic morphology) A morpheme added to the beginning of a word to modify its meaning, for example as, pre- in prefix, con- in conjure, re- in reheat, etc.
      Synonyms: (rare) foresyllable, (archaic) prefixum
      Antonym: suffix
      Hypernyms: (broad sense) affix, morpheme
      • 2022 November 18, Ian Sample, “Earth weighs in at six ronnagrams as new prefixes picked for big and small”, in The Guardian‎[1]:
        The chosen prefixes won the vote in part because they start with the only two letters left in the alphabet that are not already used in measurement. The b for “bronto” is already used for bytes and h for “hella” is used for hecto, the prefix for 100.
    2. (telecommunications) A set of digits placed before a telephone number, to indicate where the number is based, what type of phone number it is (landline, mobile, toll-free, premium rate etc.)
      in the UK, a number with an 0800 prefix is a toll-free number.
      Add the prefix +34 to dial a Spanish number from abroad
    3. A title added to a person's name, such as Mr. or Dr.
    4. (computing) An initial segment of a string of characters.
      The string "abra" is both a prefix and a suffix of the string "abracadabra".
Usage notes
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Synonyms
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Coordinate terms
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types of affixesedit
Derived terms
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Expressions
Translations
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Etymology 2

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From Middle English prefixen, from Middle French prefixer,[1] from Latin praefīxus, past participle of praefīgō (“to (fix, fasten, set up) in front”, “to fix on the (end, extremity)”) (from prae- (“before”) + fīgō (“to fix”, “to fasten”, “to affix”)), equivalent to pre- +‎ -fix.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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prefix (third-person singular simple present prefixes, present participle prefixing, simple past and past participle prefixed)

  2. (transitive) To determine beforehand; to set in advance. [from 15thc.]
    • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 40, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book I, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:
      But the danger was, that a man can hardly prefix any certaine limits unto his desire […].
    • 2002, Thomas R. West, Signs of Struggle, page 23:
      It is important to realize that pregivenness or prefixing is a kind of anteriority that does its work in the present; subjects and meanings in part emerge in enuciative co-constitutive moments.
  4. (transitive) To put or fix before, or at the beginning of something; to place at the start. [from 16thc.]
    • 1964, Joseph R. Levenson, “Taipings Storm the Confucian Heaven”, in Confucian China and Its Modern Fate, volume 2, University of California Press, →OCLC, page 104:
      For the classical ranks, he says, were taken from the nomenclature of the family system (indeed, they are kinship terms as well as political ones), and this arrangement was confused and inelegant. But the Taiping terms are all prefixed with 'T’ien' [translating 天 (Tiān)]—the capital is T’ien-ching [translating 天京 (Tiānjīng)], soldiers are T’ien-ping [translating 天兵], officials are T’ien-kuan [translating 天官]—for the T’ien-wang’s [translating 天王 (Tiānwáng)] authority derives from the T’ien-fu [translating 天父 (Tiānfù)].
Derived terms
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Translations
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See also

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References

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  1. ^ “prēfixen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Further reading

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Anagrams

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Catalan

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Late Latin praefīxum, from Latin praefīxus.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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prefix m (plural prefixos)

  1. prefix

Czech

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [ˈprɛfɪks]
  • Rhymes: -ɪks
  • Hyphenation: pre‧fix

Noun

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prefix m inan

  1. prefix
    Synonym: předpona

Declension

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Declension of prefix (hard masculine inanimate)
singular plural
nominative prefix prefixy
genitive prefixu prefixů
dative prefixu prefixům
accusative prefix prefixy
vocative prefixe prefixy
locative prefixu prefixech
instrumental prefixem prefixy

Derived terms

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Further reading

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Dutch

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Borrowed from post-Classical Latin praefīxum, nominal use of the neuter form of Classical Latin praefīxus, past participle of praefīgō (“to (fix, fasten, set up) in front”, “to fix on the (end, extremity)”) — the noun directly thence, whereas the adjective via French préfixe.

Alternative forms

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Noun

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prefix n or m (plural prefixen, diminutive prefixje n)

  1. prefix
    Synonym: voorvoegsel
    Antonyms: suffix, achtervoegsel

Etymology 2

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(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Adjective

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prefix (not comparable)

  1. (obsolete) fixed, predetermined
Declension
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Declension of prefix
uninflected prefix
inflected prefixe
comparative —
positive
predicative/adverbial prefix
indefinite m./f. sing. prefixe
n. sing. prefix
plural prefixe
definite prefixe
partitive prefix

Occitan

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Late Latin praefīxum, from Latin praefīxus.

Noun

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prefix m

  1. (grammar) prefix
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Romanian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French préfixe, from Latin praefīxus.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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prefix n (plural prefixe)

  1. prefix
    Antonym: sufix

Declension

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singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative-accusative prefix prefixul prefixe prefixele
genitive-dative prefix prefixului prefixe prefixelor
vocative prefixule prefixelor
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Swedish

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Noun

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prefix n

  1. (grammar) prefix

Declension

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Declension of prefix
nominative genitive
singular indefinite prefix prefix
definite prefixet prefixets
plural indefinite prefix prefix
definite prefixen prefixens
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