negative-prefixes

What are the subtle differences between nonarticulate, unarticulate, inarticulate, & misarticulate?

by

Dictionary.com lists these words as related to articulate: Related forms ar·tic·u·la·ble [ahr-tik-yuh-luh-buhl] /ɑrˈtɪk yə lə bəl/, adjective ar·tic·u·late·ly, adverb ar·tic·u·late·ness, ar·tic·u·la·cy [ahr-tik-yuh-luh-see] /ɑrˈtɪk yə lə si/, noun ar·tic·u·la·tive [ahr-tik-yuh-ley-tiv, -luh-tiv] /ɑrˈtɪk yəˌleɪ tɪv, -lə tɪv/, adjective mis·ar·tic·u·late, verb, mis·ar·tic·u·lat·ed, mis·ar·tic·u·lat·ing. mul·ti·ar·tic·u·late, adjective non·ar·tic·u·late, adjective non·ar·tic·u·late·ly, adverb non·ar·tic·u·late·ness, noun non·ar·tic·u·la·tive, adjective o·ver·ar·tic·u·late, adjective o·ver·ar·tic·u·late, verb, o·ver·ar·tic·u·lat·ed, o·ver·ar·tic·u·lat·ing. pre·ar·tic·u·late, adjective pseu·do·ar·tic·u·late, adjective pseu·do·ar·tic·u·late·ly, adverb re·ar·tic·u·late, verb, … Read more

What is the grammatical name of prefixing a word by “A”?

by

I’ve noticed that in English, “some words” (I don’t know if it could be used on all words) could be prefixed by the letter “a” to change the meaning, here are a few examples: Side and Aside Like and Alike Live and Alive Way and Away Mount and Amount Round and Around Questions: What is … Read more

How did English get related words from the same Latin root but different negative prefixes?

by

I see that there is no consistent rule in English for which words use which negative prefix, but in‐ is generally for Latin roots and un‐ is generally for Germanic roots. However, I find it especially surprising that some related English words derived from the same Latin roots use both, eg: unmoved and immovable unstable … Read more

“Insignificant” or “unsignificant”?

by

In my job I test different versions of varying degrees on websites. Basically A vs B, and the results of this test determine which version should be developed. The way a winner is chosen is by looking at the data. We can only take action on statistically significant data. When we talk about results some … Read more

How did we get both sub- and infra- prefixes?

by

It seems that both sub- and infra- are prefixes that mean “below”, leading to their use in different words to provide a similar meaning. We even have some words that are the same apart from these prefixes whose meanings could conceivably be flipped, eg. subsonic and infrasonic, substructure and infrastructure. Normally in cases like this, … Read more

Which is less ordinary? Super- or Extra- ordinary?

by

I would like to describe something that is even rarer than extraordinary. Does superordinary fit the bill? Answer Despite what you might assume from the individual words, the definitions of extraordinary and superordinary are actually the opposite of ordinary. Something extraordinary goes “beyond what is usual, regular, or customary,” or is “exceptional to a very … Read more

Do prefixes & suffixes have antonyms?

by

Question Do prefixes & suffixes have antonyms? As in, is it possible for a prefix or suffix to not have an antonym? Example Google defines "-gon" as: -gon combining form in nouns denoting plane figures with a specified number of angles. I can’t find any antonyms for this suffix. I’ve observed that prefixes may have … Read more