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How to spell prefix

hear itpre·fix/'prifةھks/nounPrefixes and work

What it means: An affix added at the beginning of a word.

In a sentence: The word "unhappy" has the prefix "un-."

The part people get wrong

Often misspelled as prefex or prefiks.

Same family: suffix, affix, prefixes, prefixed, prefixation. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: The word "prefix" comes from Latin "praefixus," meaning "fastened in front." It is built from "prae" (before) and "figere" (to fasten), the same root that gives us "fix" and "fixture."

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