prefix

«prefix» in Mova's judaism dictionary: a group of letters added to the start of a word to make a… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a prefix, prefixes); verb (prefix, prefixes, prefixed, prefixing)

meaning for a pupil

1) A prefix is a group of letters added to the start of a word to make a new word with a different meaning, like un- in «unhappy», re- in «redo» or pre- in «preview». tree →

2) To prefix something is to add a word, letters or numbers in front of it. tree →

3) In maths and science, prefixes on units show size: kilo- means a thousand (kilometre), centi- means a hundredth (centimetre), milli- means a thousandth (millimetre). tree →

4) A phone prefix (dialling code) is the numbers you dial before a phone number. tree →

5) To prefix a book or story can also mean to put an introduction or note at its very start. tree →

sense in the lessons

In English grammar and spelling lessons (and SATs), prefixes change meaning but not spelling of the root: un- and dis- and in-/im-/il-/ir- make opposites (unkind, disagree, impossible, illegal, irregular); re- means again; pre- means before; sub- means under; super- means above; anti- means against; auto- means self. In maths lessons, unit prefixes help convert measures. Phrases: add a prefix, the prefix un-, negative prefix.

examples

• Add the prefix un- to «tidy» to make «untidy». tree →
• The prefix re- means «again», as in «rewrite». tree →
• «Impossible» uses the prefix im-. tree →
• Kilo- is a prefix meaning a thousand, so a kilogram is 1,000 grams. tree →
• The prefix sub- means under, like in «submarine». tree →
• Circle the prefix in «disappear». tree →
• Milli- means one thousandth, so there are 1,000 millimetres in a metre. tree →
• To call another country, you prefix the number with its code. tree →
• This introduction is almost identical with that prefixed to the German story of "Allerleirauh,"[195] except in so far as the puppets are concerned. tree →

note

Countable: a prefix, prefixes (add -es after x). Pronounced «PREE-fix». A prefix goes at the START; a suffix goes at the END. Spelling trap: adding a prefix does not change the root's letters, so double letters can appear: dis + satisfied = dissatisfied, mis + spell = misspell, un + necessary = unnecessary. In maths: kilo- = ×1,000; centi- = ÷100; milli- = ÷1,000.

In the corpora

• The best news for spellers: a prefix never changes the spelling of the root word.
• Write the prefix, then the whole word, letter for letter.
• The doubles are not mistakes; they are the end of the prefix meeting the start of the word.
• Prefixes let you guess new words.
• A prefix is added to the start of a word and changes its meaning.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «prefix» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.