释义 |
dif- prefix of L. origin, being the assimilated form of dis- before f, as in dif-ferre, dif-fūsio. In Romanic it became def-, which in OF. was subsequently reduced to de-; this occasionally appears in Eng., as defer from L. differre, OF. defferer, mod.F. déférer, defy from L. type diffīdāre, It. diffidare, disfidare, OF. desf-, deff-, defier, mod.F. défier. Usually, however, the Latin form of the prefix is used in Eng.: cf. differ, difficult, diffidence, diffuse. For its force, see dis-: it is not, like the latter, a living prefix. |