ab-

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ab"

English

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Latin ab-, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epo (“off, away”) (English off, of).^[1] Doublet of apo- and off-.

Alternative forms

a- (found if the root word started with m, p, or v)
abs- (found if the root word started with c or t)

Prefix

ab-

(no longer productive) From.
‎ab- + ‎sorb → ‎absorb
(no longer productive) Away from; outside of.
‎ab- + ‎normal → ‎abnormal

‎ab- + ‎axial → ‎abaxial

Synonyms

(away from): out-, off-, apo-, de-, away, off

Derived terms

English terms prefixed with ab- (away)

Etymology 2

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep

Proto-Indo-European *-o

Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó

Proto-Italic *ap

Latin abder.

Latin ab-

Latin se-

Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁-

Proto-Indo-European *-éti

Proto-Indo-European *luh₁éti

Proto-Italic [Term?]

Latin luō

Latin solvō

Latin absolvōder.

Latin absolūtusder.

Middle French absolutder.

Middle English absolut

English absoluteclip.

English ab-

Clipping of absolute.

Prefix

ab-

(physics) Used in the names of certain units in the centimeter-gram-second system.
‎ab- + ‎coulomb → ‎abcoulomb

‎ab- + ‎henry → ‎abhenry

Derived terms

English terms prefixed with ab- (absolute)

References

^ Elliott K. Dobbie, C. William Dunmore, Robert K. Barnhart, et al. (editors), Chambers Dictionary of Etymology (Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2004 [1998], →ISBN), page 1

“ab-”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

-ba-, B. A., B.A., BA, Ba, ba, ba'

German

Etymology

From ab, from Middle High German abe, ab, from Old High German ab, from Proto-West Germanic *ab(a), from Proto-Germanic *ab. Compare English off-.

Pronunciation

(Standard German) IPA^(key): /ap/, [ʔäpʰ]
(Switzerland) IPA^(key): /ab̥/
Audio (Germany (Berlin)): (file)

Prefix

ab-

Separable verb prefix that indicates removal or quitting, off, away.
Synonym: aus-

‎ab- + ‎fahren (“to drive”) → ‎abfahren (“to depart, drive away”)

‎ab- + ‎spülen (“to rinse, wash”) → ‎abspülen (“to rinse off, wash off”)
Separable verb prefix that indicates a downward movement, down.
Synonyms: hinab-, herab-, runter-, herunter-, hinunter-

‎ab- + ‎tauchen (“to dive”) → ‎abtauchen (“to submerge”)
Separable verb prefix that indicates from or of.
Noun prefix that indicates being different from the source or deviation.
‎ab- + ‎Art (“kind, sort”) → ‎Abart (“variety, variant, anomality”)

‎ab- + ‎Gott (“God”) → ‎Abgott (“idol; god other than the true God”)

‎ab- + ‎Laut (“sound”) → ‎Ablaut (“ablaut; vowel gradation or alternation”)

Antonyms

(antonym(s) of “on”): an-
(antonym(s) of “up”): auf-, rauf-, hinauf-, herauf-

Derived terms

German terms prefixed with ab-

Indonesian

Etymology

From Dutch ab-, from Latin ab-.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ap]

Prefix

ab-

ab- (from; away from; outside of)

Derived terms

Indonesian terms prefixed with ab-

abduksi

abnormal

Italian

Etymology

From Latin ab (“from, away from”).

Prefix

ab-

ab- (away from; outside of)

Derived terms

Italian terms prefixed with ab-

abapicale

abarticolare

abassiale

Anagrams

ba

Latin

Alternative forms

abs- (used before /k/, /t/)
ā- (used before /b/, /m/, /w/)

Etymology

From the preposition ab (“from, away from”).

Prefix

ab-

from, away, away from
off
at a distance
completely, thoroughly
absence of
more remote
removed by three generations
abamita (“great-great-grandaunt”)

abavia (“great-great-grandmother”)

abavunculus (“great-great-granduncle”)

abavus (“great-great-grandfather”)

abmātertera (“great-great-grandaunt”)

abnepōs (“great-great-grandson”)

abneptis (“great-great-granddaughter”)

absocer (“great-great-grandfather-in-law”)

Usage notes

Before b, m, sp and v, the prefix becomes ā-.
Before c and t, the prefix becomes abs-.
Before f, the prefix becomes au-.
Before p, the prefix becomes as- (but with some exceptions).

Derived terms

Latin terms prefixed with ab-

Malay

Prefix

ab- (Jawi spelling اب-)

ab-

Derived terms

Category Malay terms prefixed with ab- not found

References

“ab-”, in Kamus Bahasa Melayu Nusantara [Nusantara Malay Language Dictionary], 2nd edition, Berakas: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka Brunei, 2011, →ISBN, page 1

Portuguese

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep

Proto-Indo-European *-o

Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó

Proto-Italic *ap

Latin abder.

Latin ab-lbor.

Portuguese ab-

Learned borrowing from Latin ab-.

Pronunciation

(Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈa.bi/

(Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɐb/ [ɐβ]
- (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ɐb/

Hyphenation: ab-

Prefix

ab-

ab- (expresses the idea of intensity, separation, opposition)

Usage notes

Used followed by a hyphen before an element beginning with r that is not phonetically linked to the preceding element (e.g., ab-rogar).

Derived terms

Portuguese terms prefixed with ab-

English

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

Prefix

Synonyms

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Prefix

Derived terms

References

Anagrams

German

Etymology

Pronunciation

Prefix

Antonyms

Derived terms

See also

Further reading

Indonesian

Etymology

Pronunciation

Prefix

Derived terms

Further reading

Italian

Etymology

Prefix

Derived terms

Further reading

Anagrams

Latin

Alternative forms

Etymology

Prefix

Usage notes

Derived terms

Malay

Prefix

Derived terms

References

Portuguese

Etymology

Pronunciation

Prefix

Usage notes

Derived terms

Further reading