This tree is almost semicircular. In the word ‘semicircle’ the prefix ‘semi-‘ means ‘half’ – half a circle.
A prefix is an affix – a group of letters – added to the beginning of a word, or before a word root, to make another word
In the word ‘unhappy’, ‘un-‘ is a prefix.
In the word ‘rewrite’, ‘re-‘ is a prefix.
If you understand the meanings of English prefixes this can help you work out the meanings of new vocabulary.
For example:
‘un-‘ means ‘not’
‘un-‘ + ‘happy’ = ‘unhappy’ or ‘not happy’
Common English prefixes and their meanings
| Prefix | Meaning | Examples |
| a- | on, in, at, to, in the specified state or manner | ajar, abed, ablaze, aloud |
| a- an- | (having) no, not, without | amoral, asexual, anaesthetic |
| ante- | before | antecedent, anteroom |
| anti- | against | antifreeze, antibiotic |
| auto- | self | autocorrect, automatic |
| bi- | two | bifocal, bicycle |
| co- | together, with |
cooperate, co-pilot, coordinate |
| com- | together, with | combination, community, companion, complement |
| contra- | against, contrasting |
contraception, contradiction |
| dis- | not (opposite of) |
disbelief, discomfort, disappear, disagree |
| ec- and ex- |
out of/former |
ectopic, extract, exodus, ex-president |
| homo- | same | homonym, homophone |
| hyper- | excessive, over, more | hyperactive, hyperthermia, hyperbole, hypercritical |
| hypo- | under, beneath, less than normal | hypodermic, hypotension, hypoallergenic |
| il- im- in- ir- | not,without | illegal, illusion, impossible, immoral, injustice, irrigate, irresponsible |
| inter- | between | interact, interplay, intersection, interlock |
| met- or meta- | behind or beyond, changed/transformed |
metaphor, metamorphosis |
| mis- | wrongly, not, wrong, bad, lack of | misjudge, misfire, misunderstand, misdeed, misgiving |
| non- | not, without | non-existent, non-alcoholic, non-fiction, nonconformity, non-stick, nonsense |
| pre- | earlier than, before, in front of | prehistoric, prefabricate, prefix, precede |
| post- | after, subsequent, later | postdate, postmortem, posthumous, postgraduate |
| re- | again, back, away or down | return, reprint, rewrite, recall, recede |
| semi- | half, partly | semicircle, semiconscious, semidarkness |
| sub- | under, beneath, below, incomplete or inferior | submarine, subsoil, subhuman, subculture |
| trans- | across, through, change | transatlantic, transform |
| un- | not, opposite of | unwashed, unloved, unfriendly, unbiased, uncool |
The origins of prefixes
Prefixes have interesting origins, showing some of the many influences on English.
For example:
French
‘mis-‘ as in misgovern
Latin
‘in-‘ as in inactive
‘post-‘ as in postnatal, postmortem, postwar
‘pre-‘ as in preconceive
Greek
‘a-‘ as in amoral
‘anti-‘ as in anti-war
‘bio-‘ as in biology, biopsy
‘geo-‘ as in geography
‘meta-‘ as in metaphysical
Language is constantly changing and adapting and you’re probably familiar with one fairly new prefix that’s used for all sorts of things today, the prefix e- (electronic) as in:
ebook
e-cigarette
e-learning
e-course
e-skills
and e-petition
In tomorrow’s post we’ll look at the guidelines for hyphenating prefixes 🙂
I love looking at the origins of words, and you make this really interesting Angela.
Paula Jones recently posted..From zero to expert; why you need to just get writing that course
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Thank you, Paula 🙂 The origins of words is one of my most favourite things – endlessly fascinating 🙂
Very interesting Angela, Thank you 🙂
Anita recently posted..When we feel alone
Thank you very much, Anita 🙂
I didn’t know that ‘a’, ‘mis’ and ‘un’ before words were prefixes.
Interesting post, thank you.
Shan recently posted..Active Listening – Conclusion
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Thank you very much, Shan 🙂
I like words with prefixes where the prefix has become so ‘affixed’ that I don’t think of the prefix as a prefix at all – like in the word misbegotten.
Do we use the un-affixed word? It seems archaic. Do we say ‘He was begotten of the king and queen of Persia.’ ?
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Me too, David. When I was writing this post and thinking about prefixes I really noticed how many prefixes there are that, as you say, we just don’t even think of them as prefixes anymore.
I think it would be ‘He was beget…'(?) It’s definitely a word we don’t hear much – except perhaps in the Bible?
It’s a good word though 🙂
It’s so interesting to ‘observe’ our language from the perspective of someone who is not a native English speaker. I had the fortune to take Latin at school, which teaches you a great deal about English (and other) languages. I value this more an more as I get older.
Judy recently posted..7 Top Productivity Tips For A Newly Diagnosed Coeliac
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Hi Angela, very interesting to see how the prefix e is evolving 🙂
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