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af-. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
af-, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
af- in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
af- you have here. The definition of the word
af- will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
af-, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
Danish
Etymology
From Old Norse af-. Compare German ab-, Swedish av-.
Pronunciation
Prefix
af-
- de-, to cause to cease to be
- tabuisere (“to taboo”) -> aftabuisere (“to detaboo”)
- klassificere (“classify, make classified (secret)”) -> afklassificere (“declassify, make unclassified”)
- militarisere (“militarize”) -> afmilitarisere (“demilitarize”)
- mystificere (“mystify”) -> afmystificere (“demystify”)
- off, from (signifies removal)
- rive (“rip”) -> afrive (“rip off”)
- skrælle (“peel”) -> afskrælle
Synonyms
Derived terms
Dutch
Etymology
Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *ab.
Pronunciation
Prefix
af-
- (prefix) de-, en-
- down
- off
Derived terms
Category Dutch terms prefixed with af- not found
Gothic
Romanization
af-
- Romanization of 𐌰𐍆-
Icelandic
Etymology
From Old Norse af-, from Proto-Germanic *aba-.
Prefix
af-
- de-
Derived terms
Old English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *aba-.
Pronunciation
Prefix
af-
- away, off, from, away from
- ofcuman, afcuman ― to come from, originate from
Usage notes
- This is a verbal prefix. The noun counterpart of this prefix is æf-.
Old Norse
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *aba-. Cognate with Old Norse æf-.
Prefix
af-
- away, off, from, away from
- excessively, negatively
Derived terms
Old Saxon
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *aba-, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó (“off, away”).
Pronunciation
Prefix
af-
- Forming verbs and adjectives with the sense of "off", "away", "from", "out of", "away from"
- afgevan/afgeƀan (“to give up, surrender”)
- down
- afbrekan (“break down, pluck”)
- afheldian (“go down, end”)
Scots
Prefix
af-
- Shetland form of aff-
References
Swedish
Prefix
af-
- Obsolete spelling of av-
Welsh
Etymology
From Proto-Brythonic *aβ̃-, from Proto-Celtic *am-, allophonic variant of *an- before *b and *ɸ.
Pronunciation
Prefix
af-
- not, un-, non-, an-, dis-, negative prefix
- Synonym: an-
- af- + glân (“clean; honest”) → aflan (“corrupt, evil”)
- af- + llwyddiannus (“successful”) → aflwyddiannus (“unsuccessful”)
- af- + rhwydd (“easy”) → afrwydd (“difficult”)
- af- + iechyd (“health”) → afiechyd (“sickness, illness”)
Usage notes
The prefix af- triggers the soft mutation. It is used only before gl, ll, rh, and consonantal i, with an- used elsewhere.
Derived terms
Mutation
References
R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “af-”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies