喜樂美語

核心畫面

Hold prefix as: a small piece fixed onto the front of something bigger, so that it now comes first and changes how the whole thing is read. 'un' before 'tie', a code before a phone number, 'Dr' before a name — the piece is short, it sits in front, and it never stands alone.

有一小段東西被釘在另一個較長東西的「前面」，從此它排在最前頭，也改變了整串該怎麼讀。un 貼在 tie 前面、區碼排…更多收起有一小段東西被釘在另一個較長東西的「前面」，從此它排在最前頭，也改變了整串該怎麼讀。un 貼在 tie 前面、區碼排在電話號碼前面、Dr 放在名字前面——三個場景的共同點是：這一小段很短、它站在前面、而且它不能單獨存在，一定要有後面那個主體才有意義。這也是為什麼 prefix 從名詞（那一小段東西）自然長出動詞（把那一小段放上去）。

From the word’s history

Latin prae- 'before' + figere 'to fix, fasten' — literally 'fastened in front', which is exactly what a prefix does to a word, a number, or a name.

拉丁文的 prae-（在前面）加上 figere（固定、釘上），合起來就是「釘在前面」。這個字面意思到今天幾乎沒有磨損：不管接的是一個字、一串號碼還是一個名字，動作都還是「拿一小段釘在前頭」。順帶一提，figere 這個根也活在 fix（固定）裡面，兩個字是同一家人。

Oxford English Dictionary / Merriam-Webster etymology entry for “prefix”

Two branches

名詞：放在前面的那一小段

這一支是核心畫面的名詞面：指那個被釘在前頭的東西本身，差別只在它被釘到什麼上面——一個字、一串號碼、還是一個人的名字。

word-forming prefix · noun · B2

A short group of letters that you add to the front of a word to change its meaning and make a new word, such as 'un' in 'untie' or 'mis' in 'misunderstand'.

字首；前綴

動詞：把東西放到前面去

同一個畫面改看動作那一面：不是講那一小段東西，而是講「把它釘上去」這個行為。

add a prefix or title · verb · B2

To put a prefix, a title, or an extra group of numbers in front of a word, a name, or a set of numbers.

加在前面；加上前綴

原始詞典資料6 筆記錄

以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。

prefixnoun詞源 1/ˈpɹiːfɪks/

  • 1

    grammarhuman-scienceslinguistic-morphologySomething placed before another

    • 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.
  • 2

    communicationselectrical-engineeringengineeringSomething placed before another

    • in the UK, a number with an 0800 prefix is a toll-free number.
    • Add the prefix +34 to dial a Spanish number from abroad
  • 3

    Something placed before another

  • 4

    computingengineeringmathematicsSomething placed before another

    • The string "abra" is both a prefix and a suffix of the string "abracadabra".

prefixverb詞源 2/ˈpɹiːfɪks/

  • 1

    To determine beforehand; to set in advance.

    • They duly arrived at the prefixed hour.
    • But the danger was, that a man can hardly prefix any certaine limits unto his desire[…].
  • 2

    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.
    • You must prefix the number with the area code.

資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。