Prefix

//ˈpɹiːfɪks// noun, verb

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Something placed before another; A morpheme added to the beginning of a word to modify its meaning, for example as, pre- in prefix, con- in conjure, re- in reheat, etc.

    "The chosen prefixes won the vote in part because they start with the only two letters left in the alphabet that are not already used in measurement. The b for “bronto” is already used for bytes and h for “hella” is used for hecto, the prefix for 100."

  2. 2
    an affix that is added in front of the word wordnet
  3. 3
    Something placed before another; A set of digits placed before a telephone number, to indicate where the number is based, what type of phone number it is (landline, mobile, toll-free, premium rate etc.)

    "in the UK, a number with an 0800 prefix is a toll-free number."

  4. 4
    Something placed before another; A title added to a person's name, such as Mr. or Dr.
  5. 5
    Something placed before another; An initial segment of a string of characters.

    "The string "abra" is both a prefix and a suffix of the string "abracadabra"."

Verb
  1. 1
    To determine beforehand; to set in advance. transitive

    "But the danger was, that a man can hardly prefix any certaine limits unto his desire[…]."

  2. 2
    attach a prefix to wordnet
  3. 3
    To put or fix before, or at the beginning of something; to place at the start. transitive

Etymology

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Late Latin praefīxum, from Latin praefīxus, 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”)), equivalent to pre- + -fix. Doublet of the archaic synonym prefixum.

Etymology 2

From Middle English prefixen, from Middle French prefixer, from Latin praefīxus, 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”)), equivalent to pre- + -fix.

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