| 释义 |
un- /un-/ prefix- (1) meaning ‘not’ (in many cases, the resultant word is more than a mere negation and has a positive force, as in unkind, which usu means ‘cruel’ rather than just ‘not kind’)
- (2) indicating a reversal of process, removal or deprivation
- (3) merely emphasizing reversal or deprivation already expressed by the simple word, as in unbare or unloose
- Sometimes (in Shakespeare and Milton) added to a present participle with a passive meaning. The meaning is often ambiguous, esp in participial adjectives
ORIGIN: Partly OE un-, negative; cf Ger un-, L in-, Gr an- or a-; partly OE on- (or un-), the unstressed form of and-; cf Ger ent-, Gr anti against un- /un-/ prefix- (1) meaning ‘not’ (in many cases, the resultant word is more than a mere negation and has a positive force, as in unkind, which usu means ‘cruel’ rather than just ‘not kind’)
- (2) indicating a reversal of process, removal or deprivation
- (3) merely emphasizing reversal or deprivation already expressed by the simple word, as in unbare or unloose
- Sometimes (in Shakespeare and Milton) added to a present participle with a passive meaning. The meaning is often ambiguous, esp in participial adjectives
ORIGIN: Partly OE un-, negative; cf Ger un-, L in-, Gr an- or a-; partly OE on- (or un-), the unstressed form of and-; cf Ger ent-, Gr anti against Many words formed from the root with this prefix (too many to list in one entry). |