Adjacent Words

ex- definitions

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Merriam Webster's

I. prefix Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French, from Latin (also, prefix with perfective and causative value), from ex out of, from; akin to Greek ex, ex- out of, from Old Church Slavic iz 1. out of ; outside <exclave> 2. not <exstipulate> 3. [Middle English, from Late Latin, from Latin] former <ex-president> II. — see exo-

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. prefix (also e- before some consonants, ef- before f) 1 forming verbs meaning: a out, forth (exclude; exit). b upward (extol). c thoroughly (excruciate). d bring into a state (exasperate). e remove or free from (expatriate; exonerate). 2 forming nouns from titles of office, status, etc., meaning 'formerly' (ex-convict; ex-president; ex-wife). Etymology: L f. ex out of 2. prefix out (exodus). Etymology: Gk f. ex out of

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ex- Ex- A prefix from the latin preposition, ex, akin to Gr. 'ex or 'ek signifying out of, out, proceeding from. Hence, in composition, it signifies out of, as, in exhale, exclude; off, from, or out. as in exscind; beyond, as, in excess, exceed, excel; and sometimes has a privative sense of without, as in exalbuminuos, exsanguinous. In some words, it intensifies the meaning; in others, it has little affect on the signification. It becomes ef- before f, as in effuse. The form e- occurs instead of ex- before b, d, g, l, m, n, r, and v, as in ebullient, emanate, enormous, etc. In words from the French it often appears as es-, sometimes as s- or ['e]-; as, escape, scape, ['e]lite. Ex-, prefixed to names implying office, station, condition, denotes that the person formerly held the office, or is out of the office or condition now; as, ex-president, ex-governor, ex-mayor, ex-convict. The Greek form 'ex becomes ex in English, as in exarch; 'ek becomes ec, as in eccentric.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

ex- is added to nouns to show that someone or something is no longer the thing referred to by that noun. For example, a woman's ex-husband is no longer her husband. ...my ex-wife. ...ex-President Reagan. ...an ex-soldier. PREFIX