Talk:English prefix

message: Wiktionary has pretty extensive lists of prefixes under Appendix:English prefixes. -LlywelynII (talk) 16:33, 23 July 2009 (UTC)
replies: text: While this is likely true, it's understood by all that articles should be expanded where verifiable, reliable facts can be added. The inclusion of an  tag into every section of the article is unnecessary, and what's worse is that by adding one to every section the tag completely looses any impact that it may have. That's why I've removed them all. If you feel that a specific section is in particular need of expansion, feel free to readd the tag to that section.— V = I * R (talk) 20:19, 6 August 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Expansion Tags

message: Why does the sorted list of prefixes start and restart? (between with- and ab-)
I will sort the entire list unless there is a good explanation (we should indicate it on the page if there is a good reason). --Rgonsalv (talk) 15:28, 24 August 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: From what I recall, the first section was for the "Germanic" or "native" prefixes and the second section was all the "neoclassical" ones (Greek and Latin). Mild Bill Hiccup (talk) 04:14, 25 August 2010 (UTC)
thread_title: Why the Split in List of Prefixes?

message: Not the fore- of foreboding, but the for- of forgive, forget, forlorn, forsake(n), etc.  It's a cognate with the German ver-, of that I am 99,9% certain (vergeben, vergessen, verloren, etc).  But what it its meaning?  I couldn't tell you what the German ver- does to its word either, other than (usually) make it into a transitive or reflexive verb.  Could someone explain, and maybe add to the article if they think they know what they are talking about? 
: This prefix is no longer analyzable for English speakers (although many may be able to isolate it from the base). In other words, it is no longer a prefix and forgive, forget are just single morpheme words without any internal parts. So, if the page is about English prefixes in the modern language (in a synchronic sense), then a for- prefix should not be listed. Besides what you list, forgo, forspend, forswear, forbear, forgather are other words.
: But, for- was a prefix earlier before it became unproductive and unanalyzable. And if this page is supposed to include more historical information, then it could be listed under the archaic section.
: In Old English, for- (originally a preposition) was attached to verbs and adjectives with meanings of (1) loss, destruction, (2) intensification, (3) perfectivity. However, in words like forbeodan (= Modern English forbid) "forbid, refuse", forgiefan (= ModE forgive) "give up, forgive", forgietan (=ModE forget) "forget", the original meanings are being lost. It is, as you mention, related to German ver-. By Middle English for- is no longer productive and has lost it prefixal meaning. It doesnt make a verb transitive or reflexive.
: Marchand suggests that only in some dialects can any trace of the original meaning be found: forbear with a dialectal meaning of "endure" (it means "hold back, resist" in the standard language), and forgather "assemble" an uncommon word marked as "chiefly Scots" by Oxford English Dictionary.– ishwar  (speak) 04:06, 25 April 2008 (UTC)
replies: text:  ishwar I find the notion of grammar as expressed in the West "questionable" and culturally specific.  The field overall also seems to me to be unnecessarily "aggressive" in disallowing alternative views (viz Chomsky and Everett).  If a "strict" grammatical definition alone is to be applied here then there seems to me to be a case for an article that has a less strict approach, one inferred by the example of "for-" that is given above.  I am unclear why if "for-" is disallowed under the definitions used her that "sur-" is allowed.  In any case it seems to me that this page could be duplicated and expanded elsewhere, replacing the strict technical grammatical definitions for something "looser", more flexible, and more immediately explanatory more widely of etymological meaning.  I personally would find such an expanded list very useful. Would there be a problem with this?  Having as a guideline that the "ancestry" of a word is unclear or lost in the mists of time should not in my opinion preclude a prefix from inclusion.  LookingGlass (talk) 19:35, 9 January 2013 (UTC)

text: Fixed; thanks for noticing this. Mild Bill Hiccup (talk) 17:44, 26 September 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: For-

message: While 'homophobic' is derived from 'homosexual', the prefix does not act as a modifier to create a word meaning afraid of the same, but is a shorthand way of saying homosexualphobic.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kabbak (talk • contribs) 19:07, 2 June 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: Homo

message: English is the worst language that I know when it comes to prefixation. Why write the prefixes separated or hyphenated? It just doesn't make sense in 96% of the cases. You just need to know some basics about linguistics to realize, and you are absolutely sure when you know some more than the average... In this article nothing explicit is said in reference to that, and I consider it's vital.
81.184.212.85 (talk) 12:42, 3 January 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  Why separated of hyphenated? 

message: I understand the yester- prefix is now "unproductive", but is that a reason to exclude it from the list of prefixes, as this prefix is still in use in the words yesterday and yesteryear for example? (See: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/yester- )
--xephox (talk) 18:38, 24 March 2013 (UTC)
thread_title:  The yester- prefix 

message: You have good explanations, but some tend to turn into run-on sentences. Instead of a long explanation, you could break down the explanation into smaller parts for better and cleaner clarification. Also, it would have been helpful to provide more examples in some of the sections, such as the section for "Native vs. non-native (neo-classical) prefixing." Nevertheless, although it is important to give examples, it is even more important to explain why. For example, instead of just giving examples for "there are a few prefixes in English that are class-changing," you could have given a reason for it first, before delving straight into examples.
--Millywkh (talk) 02:13, 17 September 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  Suggestions 

message: This whole article is a huge mess, most prefixes listed under "Native" are not native at all.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.177.146.31 (talk) 04:07, 30 June 2017 (UTC)
thread_title: Anglo-Saxon VS Norman-French

message: This article needs to be merged with Prefix, just like they did with Suffix and English suffixes a while back. Masterhatch (talk) 21:31, 12 May 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: Is this why you completely removed non-english examples from the articles? What purpose does this serve aside from deleting useful information? I'd like to know the rationale behind this. Orcaguy | Write me | Mon œuvre 22:36, 12 May 2021 (UTC)
replies: text: Nevermind, rationale can be found at Talk:Prefix#English_prefix. Orcaguy | Write me | Mon œuvre 23:00, 12 May 2021 (UTC)
thread_title:  merger with Prefix