proto-

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See also: proto, Proto, protó, and pro to

English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek πρωτο- (prōto-), combination form of πρῶτος (prôtos, first), superlative of πρό (pró, before).

Pronunciation

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Prefix

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proto-

  1. An early, primitive stage of development.
    protophysics, protometal, protoword
    • 2022 November 6, Emma Garland, “Aaron Carter was the millennium’s bubblegum bad boy – and the victim of a rapacious music industry”, in The Guardian[1], →ISSN:
      In many ways, both good and bad, he was a proto-Justin Bieber—a teenage dream to be bought and sold, with what would turn out to be very little regard for his own humanity.
  2. Original, older.
    protograph, protolacteal, prototype, protoplasm
  3. (ordinal number) First in order; which stage is first.
    protogynous, protandrous
  4. Primary.
    protoderm, protocneme
  5. (linguistics, genetics) Most recent common ancestor (often hypothetical) of.
    All Indo-European languages from Albanian to Zazaki are descended from Proto-Indo-European.
  6. (inorganic chemistry) A minimal proportion of a particular substance when in a combination. See protosalt.
    protoxide, protosulfide, protiodide
  7. (chemistry) Relating to protons and/or positive charge.
    protophilic, protolysis
  8. (anatomy) Anterior.
    prototroch, protoconid, protoconule

Synonyms

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Coordinate terms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Anagrams

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French

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Etymology

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From Ancient Greek πρῶτος (prôtos).

Prefix

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proto-

  1. proto-

Italian

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Etymology

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From Ancient Greek πρωτο- (prōto-), combining form of πρῶτος (prôtos, first), superlative of πρό (pró, before).

Prefix

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proto-

  1. proto-

Usage notes

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  • Also prot- before a vowel.

Derived terms

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Anagrams

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Latvian

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Etymology

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From Ancient Greek πρωτο- (prōto-), combining form of πρῶτος (prôtos, first), superlative of πρό (pró, before).

Prefix

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proto-

  1. proto- (initial, first, original)

Usage notes

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  • Also prot- before a vowel

Derived terms

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Polish

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Etymology

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Derived from Ancient Greek πρωτο- (prōto-).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /prɔ.tɔ/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɔtɔ
  • Syllabification: [please specify syllabification manually]

Prefix

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proto-

  1. (chemistry) proto-
    proto- + ‎-liza → ‎protoliza

Derived terms

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See also

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Further reading

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  • proto- in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

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Etymology

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From Ancient Greek πρωτο- (prōto-), combining form of πρῶτος (prôtos) "first", superlative of πρό (pró) "before".

Prefix

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proto-

  1. proto-

Derived terms

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Romanian

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Etymology

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From Ancient Greek πρωτο- (prōto-), combining form of πρῶτος (prôtos) "first", superlative of πρό (pró) "before".

Prefix

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proto-

  1. proto-

Derived terms

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Spanish

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Ancient Greek πρωτο- (prōto-), combining form of πρῶτος (prôtos, first), superlative of πρό (pró, before).

Prefix

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proto-

  1. proto-

Derived terms

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Further reading

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