Numeral or number prefixes are prefixes derived from numerals or occasionally other numbers . In English and many other languages, they are used to coin numerous series of words. For example:
16-396: Semi- is a numerical prefix meaning "half". The prefix alone is often used as an abbreviation when the rest of the word (the thing which half of is being described) is clear from context. Semi or SEMI may refer to: Semi- In many European languages there are two principal systems, taken from Latin and Greek , each with several subsystems; in addition, Sanskrit occupies
32-430: A Brake", and "Right Oar Left". These mini-game titles are also different depending on regional differences and take into account that specific region's culture. Word play can enter common usage as neologisms . Word play is closely related to word games ; that is, games in which the point is manipulating words. See also language game for a linguist's variation. Word play can cause problems for translators: e.g., in
48-441: A major feature of their work . Shakespeare 's "quibbles" have made him a noted punster. Similarly, P.G. Wodehouse was hailed by The Times as a "comic genius recognized in his lifetime as a classic and an old master of farce" for his own acclaimed wordplay. James Joyce , author of Ulysses , is another noted word-player. For example, in his Finnegans Wake Joyce's phrase "they were yung and easily freudened" clearly implies
64-406: A marginal position. There is also an international set of metric prefixes , which are used in the world's standard measurement system . In the following prefixes, a final vowel is normally dropped before a root that begins with a vowel, with the exceptions of bi-, which is extended to bis- before a vowel; among the other monosyllables , du- , di- , dvi- , and tri- , never vary. Words in
80-618: A multiple of 10 rather than multiplication by it. Several common-use numerical prefixes denote vulgar fractions . Words containing non-technical numerical prefixes are usually not hyphenated. This is not an absolute rule, however, and there are exceptions (for example: quarter-deck occurs in addition to quarterdeck ). There are no exceptions for words comprising technical numerical prefixes, though. Systematic names and words comprising SI prefixes and binary prefixes are not hyphenated, by definition. Nonetheless, for clarity, dictionaries list numerical prefixes in hyphenated form, to distinguish
96-399: A numerical prefix need not be related to the root language of the word that it prefixes. Some words comprising numerical prefixes are hybrid words . In certain classes of systematic names, there are a few other exceptions to the rule of using Greek-derived numerical prefixes. The IUPAC nomenclature of organic chemistry , for example, uses the numerical prefixes derived from Greek, except for
112-492: A play on words in his verse on " True Nen " A farmer says, "I got soaked for nothing, stood out there in the rain bang in the middle of my land, a complete waste of time. I'll like to kill the swine who said you can win the Nobel Prize for being out standing in your field!". The Mario Party series is known for its mini-game titles that usually are puns and various plays on words; for example: "Shock, Drop, and Roll", "Gimme
128-719: Is in turn from pro- and the Greek word for fat), and butane (from butyl , which is in turn from butyric , which is in turn from the Latin word for butter). Word play Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words ) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement . Examples of word play include puns , phonetic mix-ups such as spoonerisms , obscure words and meanings, clever rhetorical excursions, oddly formed sentences, double entendres , and telling character names (such as in
144-701: The cardinal catgegory are cardinal numbers , such as the English one , two , three , which name the count of items in a sequence. The multiple category are adverbial numbers, like the English once , twice , thrice , that specify the number of events or instances of otherwise identical or similar items. Enumeration with the distributive catgegory originally was meant to specify one each , two each or one by one , two by two , etc., giving how many items of each type are desired or had been found, although distinct word forms for that meaning are now mostly lost. The ordinal catgegory are based on ordinal numbers such as
160-442: The English first , second , third , which specify position of items in a sequence. In Latin and Greek, the ordinal forms are also used for fractions for amounts higher than 2; only the fraction 1 / 2 has special forms. The same suffix may be used with more than one category of number, as for example the orginary numbers second ary and terti ary and the distributive numbers bi nary and ter nary . For
176-553: The common inheritance of Greek and Latin roots across the Romance languages , the import of much of that derived vocabulary into non-Romance languages (such as into English via Norman French ), and the borrowing of 19th and 20th century coinages into many languages, the same numerical prefixes occur in many languages. Numerical prefixes are not restricted to denoting integers. Some of the SI prefixes denote negative powers of 10, i.e. division by
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#1732851211459192-500: The hundreds, there are competing forms: Those in -gent- , from the original Latin, and those in -cent- , derived from centi- , etc. plus the prefixes for 1 through 9 . Many of the items in the following tables are not in general use, but may rather be regarded as coinages by individuals. In scientific contexts, either scientific notation or SI prefixes are used to express very large or very small numbers, and not unwieldy prefixes. ( but hybrid hexadecimal ) Because of
208-574: The more conventional "they were young and easily frightened"; however, the former also makes an apt pun on the names of two famous psychoanalysts , Jung and Freud . An epitaph , probably unassigned to any grave , demonstrates use in rhyme. Crossword puzzles often employ wordplay to challenge solvers. Cryptic crosswords especially are based on elaborate systems of wordplay. An example of modern word play can be found on line 103 of Childish Gambino 's "III. Life: The Biggest Troll". H2O plus my D, that's my hood, I'm living in it Rapper Milo uses
224-556: The play The Importance of Being Earnest , Ernest being a given name that sounds exactly like the adjective earnest ). Word play is quite common in oral cultures as a method of reinforcing meaning. Examples of text-based ( orthographic ) word play are found in languages with or without alphabet-based scripts, such as homophonic puns in Mandarin Chinese . Most writers engage in word play to some extent, but certain writers are particularly committed to, or adept at, word play as
240-516: The prefix for 9 (as mentioned) and the prefixes from 1 to 4 (meth-, eth-, prop-, and but-), which are not derived from words for numbers. These prefixes were invented by the IUPAC, deriving them from the pre-existing names for several compounds that it was intended to preserve in the new system: methane (via methyl , which is in turn from the Greek word for wine), ethane (from ethyl coined by Justus von Liebig in 1834), propane (from propionic , which
256-405: The prefixes from words with the same spellings (such as duo- and duo ). Several technical numerical prefixes are not derived from words for numbers. ( mega- is not derived from a number word, for example.) Similarly, some are only derived from words for numbers inasmuch as they are word play . ( Peta- is word play on penta- , for example. See its etymology for details.) The root language of
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