This is the podcast for the prefixes page Prefixes along with suffixes and word roots are a useful way to build vocabulary. This page explains what prefixes are and gives some examples of common prefixes. So first of all what are prefixes? As noted in the section on vocabulary building, prefixes are word components which are added to the beginning of a word.
They usually change the meaning rather than the word form. Although most prefixes are Latin in origin, many come from Greek or Anglo-Saxon, with the result that there may be more than one prefix with the same meaning. for example uni from latin and mono from greek both mean one universe which is everything that exists and monolingual one language for example a monolingual dictionary. Prefixes from one language origin usually combine with the root of the same language.
although this is not always the case. In fact, the word monolingual is an example of mixed languages as mono is Greek while lingual is from Latin. Some prefixes with the same meaning and origin have more than one form, often because of spelling rules and the sounds which follow them. For example, the negative prefix IN becomes IM when followed by an M or a P. immodest, impossible or ill when followed by an L, illogical and so on. Let's look at some common prefixes.
The table on the website shows some common prefixes with their meaning and some example words. They are grouped according to their general meaning, negative prefixes, number prefixes and so on. They are listed alphabetically in each section except for number prefixes which are listed in order of the numbers they represent. On the website they are colour-coded according to language of origin. Greek prefixes in green, Latin prefixes in red, other prefixes in black.
In this podcast I will tell you whether they are Greek or Latin prefixes. Many Greek and Latin prefixes occur in pairs with the same meaning. The full table of prefixes is available on the website, but in this podcast I'll just give some examples for each of the general meanings. So the first type are negative prefixes. For example, a or an, which are both Greek prefixes, meaning without or not.
For example, anaesthetic, atheist, amoral. De or dis, which are Latin prefixes, meaning not or opposite. For example defrost, disagree, disappear, disadvantage. Number prefixes. Hemi from Greek and semi from Latin both mean half. For example, hemisphere, semicircle, semifinal. Kilo from Greek and milli from Latin mean thousand, for example kilobyte, kilogram, millennium, millisecond. Poly from Greek and multi from Latin mean many. For example, multiple, multinational, polygon, polysyllable.
Then there are prefixes for position in space. For example, ex, from Latin, meaning out. For example, exit, extinguish, extract. Or tele from Greek meaning distant. For example, television, telephone. Or trans from Latin meaning across. For example, transportation, transmit, transform. then there are prefixes for position in time. For example, ante and pre from Latin or for, which all mean before. For example, antecedent, forecast, foresee, prefix, predict.
or post from Latin meaning after, for example post-war, post-graduate. Quantity prefixes, for example, hyper from Greek and over, which mean excessive or too much. For example, hyperactive, oversleep, overwork. And hypo from Greek and under which mean insufficient or not enough. For example, hypodermic, underpay, underworked, underused. you from Greek and ben from Latin, meaning good or normal.
For example, eugenics, benefit, benign. And its opposite, dis from Greek and mal from Latin, meaning bad. For example, dysfunctional, malfunction, maltreatment. Then there are relationship prefixes. For example, sim or sin from Greek, or com or co or con from Latin, meaning with or together. For example, sympathy, cooperate, communicate.
Size prefixes include macro from Greek meaning large, for example macrocosm, macroeconomic, and again it has an opposite micro from greek or mini from latin meaning small for example microeconomics miniature mini computer Then there are prefixes meaning more, for example, out, which means more or better, outperform, outbid, outdo.
Or super and ultra, both from Latin, meaning more than or beyond, for example superlative, superpower, ultrasound. And sur, meaning over and above, for example surcharge. Finally, there are various other prefixes with no general connecting meaning. Examples are auto from Greek, meaning self. For example, autobiography, automobile. Neo from Latin, meaning new.
for example, neoclassical. Pro from Latin meaning forward, for example, proceed, promotion. And pro can also mean in favour of, for example, pro-government. And finally there is the most common prefix in English re, meaning again. For example, return, revisit, reappear, review. Those are just a few examples of prefixes and some of the words which use them. For a more complete list visit the website.