PREFIXES
Reading edition
A prefix is a word or syllable placed before another word, and so completely joined to it that it changes the meaning of the basic word.
Note to Teacher:—Have the pupils select in the lessons of your grade, words which have similar prefixes.
As you can see in the list below, the final consonant of a prefix has often been changed to make the pronunciation easier, but does not disappear when added to the stem. Thus, ad-cord became ac-cord, ad-fect became af-fect, etc.
PrefixDefinitionIllustration
ab (abs, a)from, awayabandon
ad (ac, af, ag, al, an, ap, ar, as, at)toaccommodate
antebeforeantecedent
circumabout, aroundcircumstance
com (co, col, con, cor)with, togethercompare, concert
defrom, down, awaydesert, debate
dis (dif, de)apart, notdisobey
ex (e, ef)out, out of, away from, off, beyondexpect
extraout ofextraordinary
in (ill, im, ir)in, into, not, withoutinside
interamong, between, mutuallyinterurban
nonnotnonsense
perthrough, by, forperhaps
postbehind, afterpostpone
prebeforeprevent
proforward, before, insteadprovide
reback, again, againstreturn
seaside, apart, withoutseparate
sub (suc, suf, sug, sup, sur)under, below, nearsubject, succeed
superover, above, beyondsuperintendent
trans (tran, tra)across, over, beyond, throughtransfer, travel