A prefix is an affix which is placed before the stem of a word
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What is the history of adding the a- prefix to form words?
I have always found the a- prefix to words (as in anew, ajar, aside, awake, afoot, a-hunting, etc.) fascinating. The NOAD says on this topic:
a- 2. prefix
•to; toward : aside | ashore.
...
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What is the opposite of “meta”?
A while back I was talking about it with friends.
Another question indicates a few meanings of the "meta-" prefix. Considering that "meta" means, in simple words, "about itself" (like how metadata is ...
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What is it called when you add 'im' to 'possible'?
I took the ESL certification test and I was wondering: what is it called when you add 'im' to 'possible'?
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adding a prefix “re” to a word, with or without a hyphen?
In science we often invent words, but that doesn't mean we know how to spell them. Most of the time words are invented by adding prefixes. In that case should there be a hyphen or not? Specifically, I ...
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1answer
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Use of hypens with “auto”: autopopulate, auto-populate, or auto populate?
I've done a fair amount of research (like here), but I can't find any examples of hyphen rules with "auto". Microsoft Word doesn't take "autopopulate", but will accept either auto-populate or auto ...
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Meaning of “pro” before a noun
First, is "pro" an abbreviated form of "professional"? If yes, does "Pro American" mean "Professional American"?
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Is “incomplex” a legitimate word?
I want to create a poster titled "An Incomplex Introduction to Complexity-based Cryptography." As you see, it contrasts the words incomplex and complexity. (Words like simple or easy do not provide ...
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3answers
605 views
Any other words that use “dis-” as an amplifying prefix?
I remember hearing once about the etymology of disgruntled, probably based around a joke about how people can not be gruntled. The explanation given was that there was never a word gruntled, rather ...
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3answers
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Where did prefix exceptions originate?
Consider the following words:
inflammable
invaluable
Each of these has the unusual property that its meaning is identical to its counterpart lacking the prefix. In almost all other cases, the ...
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10answers
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What is a good replacement for “ununderstandable”?
I want to tell a colleague of mine I'm doing something that will prevent her from getting "ununderstandable" errors. I have:
...so that you will not get unnecessary, [ununderstandable] errors.
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5answers
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“Undistinguishable” vs. “indistinguishable”
Is there a difference between these two words? To me, it seems that undistinguishable is more where you can't tell what it is, and indistinguishable seems to be where they're the same. It seems a lot ...
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3answers
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Are there any patterns to observe in choosing the correct negation prefix to use?
Are there any patterns to observe in choosing the correct prefix to use? There are other prefixes as well, but these are usually the ones I mix up.
As in unbelievable, disproportionate, asymmetric, ...
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Why are not “infamous” and “inflammable” the opposite of “famous” and “flammable”?
Why are not infamous and inflammable the opposite of famous and flammable, like incomplete, inactivity, inappropriate and so on?
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“Irregardless” vs. “irrespective”
Why is irrespective considered a proper word but irregardless is not?
