ab-

Forms

ab-, abs-, ā-^[1][2] Before ⟨f⟩ it becomes au- (auferō, aufugiō), and before ⟨p⟩ as- (aspellō, asportō).^[1][3]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Italic *ap (“away, off”), the preposition ab used as a prefix.^[3][2][1] The prefix shows the same variation as the preposition: ⟨ab-⟩ before vowels and voiced dentals, ⟨ā-⟩ before voiced labials (as in āmoveō and āvellō), and ⟨abs-⟩ before voiceless stops (as in abstineō).^[3] De Vaan traces it, with the preposition, to Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep-.^[3]

Meanings

Prefix

1. from, away from: abdūcō, abeō, aufugiō.^[1][2]
2. off: abrumpō.^[1][2]
3. At a distance, absent: absum.^[1][2]
4. Completely, thoroughly: absorbeō, absurdus, abūtor.^[1][2]
5. Difference in kind, as in absimilis “unlike”, or absence of what the base names, as in āmēns “out of one's mind”.^[1]
6. (in words of kinship) One degree further removed: abavus “great-great-grandfather”.^[1][2]

Word family

• abdūcō
• abeō
• absum
• abstineō
• auferō
• aufugiō
• abrumpō
• absorbeō
• abūtor
• āmoveō
• āvellō
• abhorreō
• abavus

Related words

• ab
• ā

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
3. ^ a b c d de Vaan, Michiel (2008), Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 7, Leiden; Boston: Brill