77
votes
Accepted
Why is it "behead" and not "dehead"?
We didn’t use de-head because we already had a verb behead by the time
we started using de- to create verbs: behead was a verb in Old English,
behéafdian.
So behead was already used long ...
- 127k
56
votes
Accepted
Why is the prefix "Trans" shortened to "X"?
X is commonly used to refer to cross because of its shape of two lines crossing.
Trans- means cross/across. Trans- and cross- are interchangeable in many cases.
From Wikipedia (emphasis mine):
In ...
- 16.1k
34
votes
Accepted
Logically, could the word "University" mean the opposite of "Diversity"?
Ignoring the fact that the word "university" doesn't mean the opposite of "diversity," your logic has a flaw: The "di-versity" comes from the Latin di(s)vers-, which has the same "dis" as in the Latin ...
- 43.9k
33
votes
Accepted
Why is the 'anti' in 'anti-semitism'?
There's of course the simple detail that in the case of ageism and sexism, we differentiate between ages and sexes respectively.
Would you expect semitism to discriminate between semites? Anti-...
- 35.8k
31
votes
Why is the 'anti' in 'anti-semitism'?
The terms "ageism" and "sexism" demonstrate a use of the -ism suffix similar to "racism". When it's not describing prejudices or prejudgement, the "-ism" suffix seems generally to be used to refer to ...
- 647
30
votes
Proper term for knowing four or more languages?
Multilingual:
A multilingual person, in a broad definition, is one who can communicate in more than one language, be it actively (through speaking, writing, or signing) or passively (through ...
- 3,702
29
votes
What does "autolyco-sentimental" mean?
Autolyco- From the Greek autolycus, meaning "the wolf itself" (i.e. savage, without sentiment).
Wikipedia: Autolycus
So, autolyco-sentimental is, perhaps, an oxymoron meaning both with and without ...
- 9,287
24
votes
Accepted
Non-existing or nonexisting
Short answer: neither. The word you want is nonexistent.
Longer answer: You can actually add a "non" prefix to any word to make up something new, even if it's not in the dictionary. (If you ...
- 37.5k
23
votes
What do you call the other bit of a word with a prefix
Stem noun:
the part of a word that is left after you take off the ending
Although I'd disagree with that and allow "taking off the prefix" too, as per word stem:
a stem is a form to ...
- 332
21
votes
Accepted
How is "erogenous" incorrectly formed?
The stem of the Greek noun erôs "love, desire" is normally erôt-, not er-. So it should be erotogenic or erotogenous in English. Cf. phôs, phôt- "light", as in photograph, not *phograph; erotic, not *...
21
votes
Accepted
Is “Untap” an equivalent of “Unleash?”
"Untap" does not seem to be a commonly used word.
Most dictionaries I've looked at do not have an entry for a verb untap, although they do for the adjective untapped, which is actually an antonym of "...
- 73.8k
20
votes
Accepted
Dust vs. Undust?
Undust is used so little that you should indeed see it as obsolete. That ngram shows some results is not really relevant if you compare it with the occurences of dust.
Your paranoia is uncalled for, ...
- 35.8k
20
votes
Why is the prefix "Trans" shortened to "X"?
In addition to the other edifying answers and comments: from an information-theory viewpoint, given the rarity of initial "x" in English words, the presence of it (especially if ...
- 491
16
votes
Accepted
Is there any rule for pronouncing words beginning with “re-”?
Rule: Use a Dictionary
Yes, there is a rule, and that rule is that you must look them up in a dictionary if you are not a native speaker.
That’s because words beginning with re- in English can, ...
- 127k
16
votes
Accepted
How to hyphenate a negated compound noun?
While I would say the third of your options, "non-defect-source-assesment processes", is most correct, I would strongly suggest trying to rephrase the subject for clarity. The hyphens can be used to ...
- 894
16
votes
Accepted
Why can "trans" be replaced with an x?
Trans is sometimes replaced by x as an abbreviation, because trans means cross, or across, and the letter x as a symbol is a cross.
- 14.9k
15
votes
When is the prefix non- used vs un-?
"Un-" is defined as "a prefix meaning 'not,' freely used as an English formative, giving negative or opposite force in adjectives and their derivative adverbs and nouns... and less freely used in ...
- 2,190
14
votes
Accepted
Why are there two Rs in "arrhythmic"?
Actually, "arhythmic" is recognized by many dictionaries as an alternate spelling (for example, Merriam Webster). As Henry notes, the Greek word is ἄρρυθμος "arrhythmos", so the spelling with one r ...
- 73.8k
13
votes
Accepted
Any word followed by "proof" means that something is protected against that word
Yes, this is the normal way that compound words are formed. The second meaning of proof as defined by the online Merriam-Webster is
designed or made to prevent or protect against something harmful
...
- 20.7k
13
votes
What does the prefix iso- mean in "isolate"?
The etymology of isolate is not the same as the prefix 'iso'.
isolated (adj.)
1763, from French isolé "isolated" (17c.) + English -ated (see -ate (2)). The French word is from Italian ...
- 2,582
12
votes
Is “Untap” an equivalent of “Unleash?”
There's a lot going on here.
Both verbs have an un- prefix, in the sense of 'remove';
unleash means 'remove the leash' and untap means 'remove the tap'.
In either case, some encumbrance is released.
...
- 100k
12
votes
Accepted
What does "autolyco-sentimental" mean?
The quote is not Berlioz but from Wagner’s book-length essay “Oper und Drama” (Opera and Drama). Wagner wrote it in 1851, and it was published the following year in Leipzig.
Your text is just one ...
- 127k
12
votes
What does "autolyco-sentimental" mean?
Completing @tchrist's answer (since I'm not able to comment), here is a quote from the original, which you can read in its entirety here:
Weber
wollte ein Drama hergestellt haben, das überall, ...
- 237
12
votes
Why is the 'anti' in 'anti-semitism'?
I propose that your difficulty with this word is not because of the prefix "anti" but because of the suffix "ism".
There are hundreds and hundreds of words in English that end with "ism". (3824 ...
- 871
11
votes
Is "disconfirm" a word?
Yes. Some dictionaries include it, like m-w.com:
to deny or refute the validity of
And TFD:
(tr) (of a fact or argument) to suggest that a hypothesis is wrong or ill-formulated
However, ...
- 6,222
9
votes
Accepted
untypical, atypical, nontypical
Atypical is by far the most common of the three, as confirmed in a Google Ngram search, so that would be my suggestion.
Untypical is apparently most often used in the phrase "not untypical". Another ...
- 533
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