Etymologically
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de-

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 23 October 2026 at 04:07. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [deː][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [de][1]

Forms

dē- (usually shortened before vowels and h)[2][1]

Etymology

It is the preposition dē used as a prefix.[2][1] Like the preposition, it is inherited from Proto-Italic *dē (“from”), from Proto-Indo-European *déh₁ (“towards”).[1]

Semantic evolution

Combined with verbs it adds motion down from or away, removal, the reversal of a process, or thoroughness and completeness; with nouns it is privative (as in dēfōrmis), and with a few adjectives intensive.[2][1]

English uses it in many verbs from French and Latin, and its Latin use for reversing an action made it a living privative prefix in English (“undo, do the opposite of”).[3]

Meanings

Prefix

  1. Down from, away, off.[2][1]
  2. Denoting removal.[2]
  3. Denoting the reversal of a process.[2]
  4. (intensive) Thoroughly, completely.[2][3]
  5. (privative) With nouns: without.[2]

Word family

  • English de-

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com