Prefijo
From Latin praefixus (fixed in front, fixed beforehand)
A prefijo (prefix) is a letter or group of letters placed at the beginning of a word to form a different word. Spanish and English share many prefixes — in-, ex-, pre-, re-, super- — because they come from the same Latin or Greek roots.
Examples
| Word | Formation | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| insuficiente ("insufficient") | In- + suficiente | In- indicates negation, so the new word means "not enough". |
| expresidente ("ex-president") | ex- + presidente | ex- indicates someone who has stopped being what the word states, so the new word means "someone who used to be president". |
More examples of prefixes:
Examples
| Prefix | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Ante- | before, in front of | anteayer ("the day before yesterday") |
| Inter- | between, in the middle | intercontinental ("between two continents") |
| Semi- | half | semicírculo ("half a circle") |