Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To put or attach before or in front of.
  • transitive verb To settle or arrange in advance.
  • transitive verb To add as a prefix.
  • transitive verb To add a prefix to.
  • noun Grammar An affix, such as dis- in disbelieve, attached to the front of a word to produce a derivative word or an inflected form.
  • noun A title placed before a person's name.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A word or syllable, or a number of syllables, rarely more than two, and usually one (sometimes reduced to a single consonant not forming a syllable), affixed to the beginning of a word, to qualify its meaning or direct, its application: opposed to suffix or postfix, a like addition at the end of a word.
  • noun The act of prefixing; prefixion.
  • To fix or put before; place in front; put at the beginning.
  • To fix beforehand; set or appoint in advance; settle beforehand.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun That which is prefixed; esp., one or more letters or syllables combined or united with the beginning of a word to modify its signification.
  • transitive verb To put or fix before, or at the beginning of, another thing.
  • transitive verb obsolete To set or appoint beforehand; to settle or establish antecedently.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun That which is prefixed; especially one or more letters or syllables added to the beginning of a word to modify its meaning; as, pre- in prefix, con- in conjure.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb attach a prefix to
  • noun an affix that is added in front of the word

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English prefixen, from Old French prefixer : pre-, before (from Latin prae-; see pre–) + fixer, to place (from Latin fīxus, past participle of fīgere, to fasten; see dhīgw- in Indo-European roots). N., from New Latin praefīxum, from neuter sing. of Latin praefīxus, past participle of praefīgere, to fix in front : prae-, pre- + fīgere, to fasten.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Middle French prefixer (verb) and Late Latin praefixum (noun), both from Latin praefixus, past participle of praefīgō ("I (fix, fasten, set up) in front”, “I fix on the (end, extremity)") (from prae- ("before") + fīgō ("I fix”, “I fasten”, “I affix")).

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Examples

  • A note from Noel Hinners: "Keith: "Re the discussion about "confusion" in the usage of the term prefix "nano", there ought to be absolutely no confusion., especially in our profession.

    NASA Watch: News: June 2005 Archives 2005

  • A note from Noel Hinners: "Keith: "Re the discussion about "confusion" in the usage of the term prefix "nano", there ought to be absolutely no confusion., especially in our profession.

    NASA Watch: Keith Cowing: June 2005 Archives 2005

  • ; Params parameters to pass to new instance (retrieved normally, ie: % 2%); when initializing (ie: label = "") Params is a label prefix for all calls

    AutoHotkey Community 2009

  • The words meditation and medication have the same prefix derived from the Latin word medicus, meaning to care or to cure, indicating that meditation is likely to be the most effective and efficient remedy for a busy and overworked mind.

    Ed and Deb Shapiro: The Greatest Gift You Can Give Your Stress! 2010

  • The words meditation and medication have the same prefix derived from the Latin word medicus, meaning to care or to cure, indicating that meditation is likely to be the most effective and efficient remedy for a busy and overworked mind.

    The Greatest Gift You Can Give Your Stress! 2010

  • Its structure, which adds the * ki - prefix, is suggestive of her being called the thing having the quality of * - goli, or more probably in Northeast-Coastal languages, in which * ki - became a new diminutive suffix, the younger person with the quality of * - goli.

    Societies, Religion, and History: Central East Tanzanians and the World They Created, c. 200 BCE to 1800 CE 2008

  • Also the Latin prefix ‘piña’ implies a cluster of flowers or fruits as in ‘pineapples’ and ‘pine cones’.

    History of the piñata 2007

  • Also the Latin prefix ‘piña’ implies a cluster of flowers or fruits as in ‘pineapples’ and ‘pine cones’.

    History of the piñata 2007

  • Also the Latin prefix ‘piña’ implies a cluster of flowers or fruits as in ‘pineapples’ and ‘pine cones’.

    History of the piñata 2007

  • The word meditation and the word medication have the same prefix derived from the Latin word medicus, meaning to care or to cure, indicating that meditation is the most appropriate medicine or antidote for stress; a quiet calmness is the most efficient remedy for a busy and overworked mind.

    Ed and Deb Shapiro: Getting High: On Drugs, Medication Or Meditation? 2009

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