Definition

Noun: 1. The process of forming a word by adding a prefix: "Prefixation" refers to the morphological process of creating a new word or a different form of a word by attaching a prefix (an affix placed before a base word or stem). 2. The state of having a prefix attached: It can also describe the condition or result of a word being formed through this process.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The word "unhappy" is created by the prefixation of "un-" to "happy".
  • Linguists study prefixation as a common method of word formation in English.
  • "Rewrite" and "prepay" are examples of prefixation.

Advanced Usage

• In linguistic analysis: The term is used to discuss morphological productivity, comparing prefixation to other processes like suffixation or compounding.
  • The paper analyzes the frequency of prefixation versus suffixation in technical vocabularies.

Variants and Related Words

• Prefix (n): An affix (such as , , ) placed before a word stem to modify its meaning.
  • The prefix "mis-" often indicates an error, as in "misunderstand".
• Prefix (v): To add a prefix to something.
  • They decided to prefix the title with "Chapter".
• Suffixation (n): The formation of a word by adding a suffix.
  • The formation of "happiness" from "happy" is an example of suffixation.

Synonyms

• Prefixing: The act of adding a prefix.
• Preposition (in grammatical context): While not a direct synonym, in some linguistic discussions, the attachment of elements before a base is referred to as "preposition" of affixes.

Notes on Different Meanings

The term "prefixation" is highly specialized and is used almost exclusively in the field of linguistics and grammar to describe a specific word-formation process. It does not have common idiomatic or phrasal verb uses.

Noun

1. formation of a word by means of a prefix