prefix
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prefix¹
- /ˈpɹiːfɪks/
- /pɹɛˈfɪks/
Rhymes with -ɪks
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Late Latin praefīxum, from Latin praefīxus, past participle of praefīgō (“to (fix, fasten, set up) in front”, “to fix on the (end, extremity)”) (from prae- (“before”) + fīgō (“to fix”, “to fasten”, “to affix”)), equivalent to pre- + -fix. Doublet of the archaic synonym prefixum.
noun prefixes · præfix · prefixe
- A morpheme added to the beginning of a word to modify its meaning, for example as, pre- in prefix, con- in conjure, re- in reheat, etc. The chosen prefixes won the vote in part because they start with the only two letters left in the alphabet that are not already used in measurement. The b for “bronto” is already used for bytes and h for “hella” is used for hecto, the prefix for 100.
- A set of digits placed before a telephone number, to indicate where the number is based, what type of phone number it is (landline, mobile, toll-free, premium rate etc.) in the UK, a number with an 0800 prefix is a toll-free number.
- A title added to a person's name, such as Mr. or Dr.
- An initial segment of a string of characters. The string "abra" is both a prefix and a suffix of the string "abracadabra".
prefix²
- /ˈpɹiːfɪks/
- /pɹiːˈfɪks/
- /pɹɛˈfɪks/
Rhymes with -ɪks
Where it comes from
From Middle English prefixen, from Middle French prefixer, from Latin praefīxus, past participle of praefīgō (“to (fix, fasten, set up) in front”, “to fix on the (end, extremity)”) (from prae- (“before”) + fīgō (“to fix”, “to fasten”, “to affix”)), equivalent to pre- + -fix.
verb prefixes · prefixing · prefixed · præfix · prefixe
- To determine beforehand; to set in advance. They duly arrived at the prefixed hour.
- To put or fix before, or at the beginning of something; to place at the start. His requests for money were usually prefixed by an apology.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: word, indicative, insert, civility, code, preface, foreword, preliminary, preamble, prologue, introduction, start, front-matter, warm-up, kickoff, opening
Translations
Every language
noun morpheme at the beginning of a word
| Español | prefijo |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 접두사 jeopdusa, 접두어 jeopdueo |
| 日本語 | 接頭辞 settōji, 接頭語 settōgo |
| 中文 | 前綴 /前缀 qiánzhuì, 詞頭 /词头 cítóu |
| हिन्दी | उपसर्ग upsarg |
| Kiswahili | kiambishi awali |
| Français | préfixe |
| Deutsch | Präfix, Vorsilbe |
| Italiano | prefisso |
| Ελληνικά | πρόθημα próthima |
| Русский | приста́вка pristávka, пре́фикс préfiks |
| Tiếng Việt | tiền tố |
| العربية | سَابِقَة sābiqa, بَادِئَة bādiʔa |
| עברית | תְּחִלִּית tkhilít |
noun telecommunications: set of digits placed before a telephone number
| Español | prefijo |
|---|
noun title added to a person's name
| Français | titre |
|---|
noun computing: initial segment of a string of characters
| Français | préfixe |
|---|
verb set or appoint beforehand
| Français | préfixer |
|---|---|
| Italiano | prefissare |
| Ελληνικά | προτάσσω protásso |
verb put or fix before, or at the beginning of
| Español | prefijar |
|---|---|
| Français | préfixer |
| Deutsch | präfigieren, mit einem Präfix versehen, voranstellen |
| Italiano | prefissare |
| Ελληνικά | προτάσσω protásso |
Talk about this word "prefix." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/prefix. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. prefix. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/prefix "prefix." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/prefix.Cite this
@misc{prefix_2026,
title = {prefix},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/prefix},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
