| The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. |
A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English. 1996.
|
8. Word Formation: Plurals, Possessives, Affixes, and Compounds
|
| § 11. dis- |
| The prefix dis- has several senses, but its basic meaning is “not, not any.” Thus disbelieve means “to refuse to believe” and discomfort means “a lack of comfort.” Dis- came into English from the Old French prefix des-, which in turn came from the Latin prefix dis-, which came from the adverb dis-, meaning “apart, asunder.” Dis- is an important prefix that occurs very frequently in English in words such as discredit, disrepair, and disrespect. | 1 |
|
|
|
| The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. Copyright © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
|
|
