Etymology

prefix

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Today it means: 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. Full definition →

First used 15ᵗʰc.Late Latin praefīxum ← Latin praefīxus
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prefix · noun1

  1. Latin · derived frompraefīxus
  2. Late Latin · borrowed frompraefīxum
  3. English todayprefix

Borrowed from Late Latin praefīxum, from Latin praefīxus, past participle of praefīgō (“to (fix, fasten, set up) in front”, “to fix on the (end, extremity)”) (from prae- (“before”) + fīgō (“to fix”, “to fasten”, “to affix”)), equivalent to pre- + -fix. Doublet of the archaic synonym prefixum.

prefix · verb2

  1. Latin · derived frompraefīxus
  2. Middle French · derived fromprefixer
  3. Middle English · inherited fromprefixen
  4. English todayprefix

From Middle English prefixen, from Middle French prefixer, from Latin praefīxus, past participle of praefīgō (“to (fix, fasten, set up) in front”, “to fix on the (end, extremity)”) (from prae- (“before”) + fīgō (“to fix”, “to fasten”, “to affix”)), equivalent to pre- + -fix.

Words from the same roots

Late Latinpraefīxum all →

prefixum

First known use, by meaning

  • from 15ᵗʰc. To determine beforehand; to set in advance.
  • from 16ᵗʰc. To put or fix before, or at the beginning of something; to place at the start.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.