af-

See also: af, AF, aF, A.F., and äf

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse af-. Compare German ab-, Swedish av-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑʊ̯/

Prefix

af-

1. 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”)

2. off, from (signifies removal)

   rive (“rip”) -> afrive (“rip off”)

   skrælle (“peel”) -> afskrælle

Synonyms

• (de-): de-

Derived terms

Danish terms prefixed with af-

Dutch

Etymology

Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *ab.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑf/

• Audio:

  (file)

Prefix

af-

1. (prefix) de-, en-
2. down
3. off

Derived terms

Category Dutch terms prefixed with af- not found

• afbieden

 

Gothic

Romanization

af-

1. Romanization of 𐌰𐍆-

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse af-, from Proto-Germanic *aba-.

Prefix

af-

1. de-

Derived terms

Icelandic terms prefixed with af-

Old English

Alternative forms

• of-

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *aba-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑf/

Prefix

af-

1. 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-

1. away, off, from, away from
2. excessively, negatively

Derived terms

Old Norse terms prefixed with af-

Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *aba-, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂epó (“off, away”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɑf/

Prefix

af-

1. Forming verbs and adjectives with the sense of "off", "away", "from", "out of", "away from"

   afgevan/afgeƀan (“to give up, surrender”)

2. down

   afbrekan (“break down, pluck”)

   afheldian (“go down, end”)

Scots

Prefix

af-

1. Shetland form of aff-

References

• “af-, pref.” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.

Swedish

Prefix

af-

1. Obsolete spelling of av-.

Welsh

Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *aβ̃-, from Proto-Celtic *am-, allophonic variant of *an- before *b and *ɸ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /av/

Prefix

af-

1. 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

Welsh terms prefixed with af-

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	h-prothesis
af-	unchanged	unchanged	haf-
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

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