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Prefixing: meaning, definitions and examples

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prefixing

 

[ ˈprɛfɪksɪŋ ]

Verb
Context #1 | Verb

linguistic term

Prefixing refers to the process of adding a prefix to a word in order to create a new word or alter its meaning. This is a common morphological process in many languages, including English, where prefixes can change a word's grammatical category or modify its meaning.

Synonyms

adding, affixing, prefixation

Examples of usage

  • The prefix 'un-' in 'unhappy' changes the meaning to its opposite.
  • Prefixing 'pre-' to 'view' creates the word 'preview'.
  • In programming, prefixing a variable name can denote its type.

Translations

Translations of the word "prefixing" in other languages:

🇵🇹 prefixando

🇮🇳 पूर्वसर्ग लगाना

🇩🇪 Präfixierung

🇮🇩 penambahan prefiks

🇺🇦 префіксування

🇵🇱 prefiksowanie

🇯🇵 接頭辞付け

🇫🇷 préfixation

🇪🇸 prefijación

🇹🇷 ön ekleme

🇰🇷 접두사 추가

🇸🇦 إضافة بادئة

🇨🇿 předponování

🇸🇰 predponovanie

🇨🇳 前缀添加

🇸🇮 predfiksiranje

🇮🇸 forskeyting

🇰🇿 префикс қою

🇬🇪 წინამდებარე დამატება

🇦🇿 ön əlavə etmə

🇲🇽 prefijación

Word origin

The term 'prefixing' is derived from the word 'prefix', which itself comes from the Latin 'praefixus', meaning 'fixed before'. The concept of prefixation in linguistics has been studied extensively, as it plays an essential role in the formation of new words. Prefixing can change the meaning, tense, or function of the base word, illustrating the flexibility of language. In addition to its linguistic applications, prefixing is used in various fields like programming, where developers prepend prefixes to names to signal functionality or type. The study of prefixing contributes to our understanding of language structure and evolution.

Word Frequency Rank

This word's position of #32,298 indicates it's among the more rare English words. While understanding it broadens your vocabulary, focus on more common words first.