proto-

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Related to proto-: Proto-Indo-European

proto-

(word root) first

Examples of words with the root proto-: prototype

proto-

or prot-

pref.

1. First in time; earliest: protolithic.

2. First formed; primitive; original: protohuman.

3. Proto- Being a form of a language that is the ancestor of a language or group of related languages: Proto-Germanic.

4. Having the least amount of a specified element or radical: protoporphyrin.

[Greek prōto-, from prōtos; see per in Indo-European roots.]

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.

proto-

or sometimes before a vowel

prot-

combining form

1. indicating the first in time, order, or rank: protomartyr.

2. primitive, ancestral, or original: prototype.

3. (Linguistics) indicating the reconstructed earliest stage of a language: Proto-Germanic.

4. (Chemistry) indicating the first in a series of chemical compounds: protoxide.

5. (Chemistry) indicating the parent of a chemical compound or an element: protactinium.

[from Greek prōtos first, from pro before; see pro-²]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

proto-

a combining form meaning “first,” “foremost,” “earliest form of” (prototype; protoplasm); used also in the names of chemical compounds that are the first in a given series or that contain the minimum amount of an element. Also, esp. before a vowel,prot-.

[< Greek, comb. form representing prôtos first, superlative formed from pró; see pro²-]

Translations

proto-

pref

(Chem, Biol) → proto-, Proto-; protolysis → Protolyse f

(Ling) → ur-, Ur-; protolanguage → Ursprache f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

References in periodicals archive ?

AInd.--Ancient Indian, F.--Finnish, F.-Mord.--Finno-Mordvinian, F.-Perm.--Finno-Permian, F.-Volg.--Finno-Volgaic, fam.--language family, FU--Proto-Finno-Ugrian, Hung.--Hungarian, IE--Proto-Indo-European, Jap.--Japanese, Kor.--Korean, Mo.--Proto-Mongolian, Mord.--Mordvinian, N--northern, Osset.--Ossetian, Ost.--Ostyak, Perm.--Proto-Permian, Sam.--Proto-Samoyed, Selk.--Selkup, Slav.--Proto-Slavic, Toch.--Tocharian, Tu.--Proto-Turkic, Tung.--Proto-Tungus, U--Proto-Uralic, Ug.-- (Proto- / common) Ugrian, UYu.--Proto-Uralo-Yukaghir, Vog.--Vogul, Voty.--Votyak, Yu.--Yukaghir, Zyr.--Zyrian.

Uralic Numerals: Is the Evolution of Numeral System Reconstructable?

has unveiled the latest release of HES Proto- AXI, the company's software package serving as a Host-to- FPGA bridge in FPGA-based prototyping as well as High Performance Computing (HPC) applications.

ALDEC HAS UNVEILED HES PROTO-AXI

According to him, the Indus script was a logo- syllabic writing system with proto- Dravidian as its underlying language.