New Word-Analysis / Or, School Etymology of English Derivative Words

by William Swinton

zephu'ros, the west wind—zephyr.

zo'on, an animal—zodiac, zoology, zoological, zoöphyte.

PART IV.—THE ANGLO-SAXON ELEMENT.

I.—ANGLO-SAXON PREFIXES.

A—(corrupted from A.-S. on) signifies in, on, at: as abed, aboard, aside, aback; and gives the adverbial form to adjectives, as in aloud, aboard.

Be—gives a transitive signification, as in bespeak. It is sometimes intensive, as in bestir, and converts an adjective into a verb, as in bedim. Be, as a form of by, also denotes proximity, as in beside: as bystander.

For[¹⁰]—means privation, or opposition: as forbear, forbid, forget.

Fore—before: as foretell, forebode.

Mis—error, wrongness: as mistake, misstate, misinform.