Prefix

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A prefix is an affix which is placed before the stem of a word. Particularly in the study of Semitic languages, a prefix is called a preformative, because it alters the form of the words to which it is affixed.

Examples of prefixes:

  • unhappy : un is a negative or antonymic prefix.
  • prefix, preview : pre is a prefix, with the sense of before
  • redo, review : re is a prefix meaning again.

The word prefix is itself made up of the stem fix (meaning attach, in this case), and the prefix pre- (meaning "before"), both of which are derived from Latin roots.

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