Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • A prefix in words of Latin origin, meaning ‘before,’ in place, time, or rank.
  • noun In petrography, in the quantitative system of classification of igneous rocks (see rock), a prefix used to indicate that one factor predominates over another to an extent greater than 5:3: as, prealkalic, precalcic, prefelic, etc.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • A prefix denoting priority (of time, place, or rank); ; preëminent eminent before or above others. Pre- is sometimes used intensively, .

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • prefix Before; used to form words meaning "in front of (in space)".
  • prefix Before; used to form words meaning "before (in time)".

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From the Latin preposition prae ("before").

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Examples

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