de-
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de-
(word root) not, downExamples of words with the root de-: decompress, descent
Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree
de-
pref.
1. Do or make the opposite of; reverse: decriminalize.
2. Remove or remove from: delouse; deoxygenate.
3. Out of: deplane; defenestration.
4. Reduce; degrade: declass.
5. Derived from: deverbative.
[Middle English de-, from Old French de- (from Latin dē-, from, off, apart, away, down, out, completely, from dē; see de- in Indo-European roots) or from Old French des-, out, off, apart, away, completely (from Latin dis-, dis-, and Latin dē-).]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
de-
prefix forming verbs and verbal derivatives
1. removal of or from something specified: deforest; dethrone.
2. reversal of something: decode; decompose; desegregate.
3. departure from: decamp.
[from Latin, from dē (prep) from, away from, out of, etc. In compound words of Latin origin, de- also means away, away from (decease); down (degrade); reversal (detect); removal (defoliate); and is used intensively (devote) and pejoratively (detest)]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
de-
, a prefix, occurring orig. in loanwords from Latin, used to form verbs that denote motion or conveyance down from, away, or off (deflect; descend); reversal or undoing of the effects of an action (deflate); extraction or removal of a thing (decaffeinate); thoroughness or completeness of an action (despoil).
[Middle English < Latin dē-, prefixal use of dē (preposition) from, away from, of, out of; in some words, < French < Latin dē- or dis- dis-1]
DE
1. Delaware.
2. destroyer escort.
D.E.
1. Doctor of Engineering.
2. driver education.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.