prefix

CEFRB1

/ˈpɹiːfɪks/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    Letters added to the beginning of a word to change its meaning.

  2. 02

    verb

    To add letters or a word to the beginning of something.

Examples

  • Relationship through marriage is indicated by the prefix "bo".

  • The dialing prefix for Bulgaria is +359.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
4
Synonyms
1

Also pronounced

  • /pɹɛˈfɪks/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. Something placed before another

  2. 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.

  3. 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.)

More examples

In context

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

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

  • Add the prefix +34 to dial a Spanish number from abroad

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

Adding the English blankun-' to 'happy' creates the word 'unhappy'.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

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.