pre-decrement

noun

A decrement operation that takes place prior to evaluation of the expression that contains the variable being decremented.

OriginEnglish decrement ← Middle English pre- ← Latin prae- →
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Meanings

nounpre-decrement (plural pre-decrements)

plural pre-decrements

  1. computingA decrement operation that takes place prior to evaluation of the expression that contains the variable being decremented.
verbpre-decrement (third-person singular simple present pre-decrements, present participle pre-decrementing, simple past and past participle pre-decremented)

present singular third person pre-decrements · participle present pre-decrementing · participle past pre-decremented · past pre-decremented

  1. transitivecomputingTo perform such an operation upon.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*per-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*preh₂-
  3. Proto-Indo-European*préh₂i?
  4. Proto-Italic*prai
  5. Proto-Italic*prai-
  6. Latinprae-
  7. Middle Englishpre-
  8. Englishpre-
  9. Englishdecrement
  10. Englishpre-decrement

From pre- + decrement.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

pre-decrement. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pre-decrement

MLA

“pre-decrement.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pre-decrement. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pre-decrement,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pre-decrement.

Source: pre-decrement on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.