Table of Contents
| Prefix. | Signification. | Example. | Definition. |
| a- ab- abs- | = from | a-vert ab-solve abs-tain | to turn from. to release from. to hold from. |
| ad- a- ac- af- ag- al- an- ap- ar- as- | = to | ad-here a-gree ac-cede af-fix ag-grieve al-ly an-nex ap-pend ar-rive as-sent | to stick to. to be pleasing to. to yield to. to fix to. to give pain to. to bind to. to tie to. to hang to. to reach to. to yield to. |
NOTE.—The forms ac-, af-, etc., are euphonic variations of ad-, and follow generally the rule that the final consonant of the prefix assimilates to the initial letter of the root.
| am- amb- | = around | am-putate amb-ient | to cut around. going around. |
| ante- anti- | = before | ante-cedent anti-cipate | going before. to take before. |
| bi- bis- | = two or twice | bi-ped bis-cuit | a two-footed animal. twice cooked. |
| circum- circu- | = around | circum-navigate circu-it | to sail around. journey around. |
| con- co- co- col- com- cor- | = with or together | con-vene co-equal co-gnate col-loquy com-pose cor-relative | to come together. equal with. born together. a speaking with another. to put together. relative with. |
NOTE.—The forms co-, col-, com-, and cor-, are euphonic variations of con-.
| contra- contro- counter- | = against | contra-dict contro-vert counter-mand | to speak against to turn against to order against |
| de- | = down or off | de-pose; de-fend | to put down; fend off. |
| dis- di- dif- | asunder = apart opposite of | dis-pel di-vert dif-fer | to drive asunder. to turn apart. to bear apart; disagree. |
NOTE.—The forms di- and dif- are euphonic forms of dis-; dif- is used before a root beginning with a vowel.
| ex- e- ec- ef- | = out or from | ex-clude e-ject ec-centric ef-flux | to shut out. to cast out. from the center. a flowing out. |
NOTE.—e-, ec-, and ef- are euphonic variations of ex-. When prefixed to the name of an office, ex- denotes that the person formerly held the office named: as, ex-mayor, the former mayor.
| extra- | = beyond | extra-ordinary | beyond ordinary. |
| in- il- im- ir- en-, em- | (in nouns and verbs) = in, into, on | in-clude il-luminate im-port ir-rigate en-force | to shut in. to throw light on. to carry in. to pour water on. to force on. |
NOTE.—The forms il-, im-, and ir- are euphonic variations of in-. The forms en- and em- are of French origin.
| in- i(n) il- im- ir- | (in adjectives and nouns.) = not | in-sane i-gnoble il-legal im-mature ir-regular | not sane. not noble. not legal. not mature. not regular. |
| inter- intel- | = between or among | inter-cede intel-ligent | to go between. choosing between. |
| intra- | = inside of | intra-mural | inside of the walls. |
| intro- | = within, into | intro-duce | to lead into |
| juxta- | = near | juxta-position | a placing near |
| non- | = not | non-combatant | not fighting. |
NOTE.—A hyphen is generally, though not always, placed between non- and the root.
| ob- o- oc- of- op- | in the way, = against, or out | ob-ject o-mit oc-cur of-fend op-pose | to throw against. to leave out. to run against; hence, to happen. to strike against. to put one's self against. |
| per- pel- | = through, thoroughly | per-vade; per-fect pel-lucid | to pass through; thoroughly made. thoroughly clear. |
NOTE.—Standing alone, per- signifies by: as, per annum, by the year.
| post- | = after, behind | post-script | written after. |
| pre- | = before | pre-cede | to go before. |
| preter- | = beyond | preter-natural | beyond nature. |
| pro | for, = forth, or forward | pro-noun pro-pose | for a noun. to put forth. |
NOTE.—In a few instances pro- is changed into pur-, as purpose; into por-, as portray; and into pol-, as pollute.
| re- red- | = back or anew | re-pel red-eem | to drive back. to buy back. |
| retro- | = backwards | retro-grade | going backwards. |
| se- | = aside, apart | se-cede | to go apart. |
| sine- | = without | sine-cure | without care. |
| sub- suc- suf- sug- sum- sup- sus- | = under or after | sub-scribe suc-ceed suf-fer sug-gest sum-mon sup-port sus-tain | to write under. to follow after. to undergo. to bring to mind from under. to hint from under. to bear by being under. to under-hold. |
NOTE.—The euphonic variations suc-, suf-, sug-, sum-, sup-, result from assimilating the b of sub- to the initial letter of the root. In "sustain" sus- is a contraction of subs- for sub-.
| subter- | = under or beneath | subter-fuge | a flying under. |
| super- | = above or over | super-natural super-vise | above nature. to over-see. |
NOTE.—In derivatives through the French, super- takes the form sur-, as sur-vey, to look over.
| trans- tra- | through, = over, or beyond | trans-gress tra-verse | to step beyond. to pass over. |
| ultra- | = beyond, or extremely | ultra-montane ultra-conservative | beyond the mountain (the Alps). extremely conservative. |
