前綴pre-與前面學(xué)過(guò)的post-是一對(duì)相反的詞綴，它來(lái)自拉丁介副詞prae ,原意為before, beforehand或in front,即表示時(shí)間或空間上的“前”。pre-原是個(gè)有副詞含義的原生詞，出現(xiàn)于拉丁語(yǔ)源的原生詞中。但自15世紀(jì)以來(lái)，它成為一個(gè)活性的派生詞綴，能與許多單詞綴合，起介詞性或修辭性的作用。當(dāng)介詞性的pre-與名詞綴合時(shí)，可能改變?cè)~基單詞的詞性。當(dāng)派生前綴pre-出現(xiàn)在以e開(kāi)頭的單詞或大寫字母時(shí)，要加連字符。此外，應(yīng)注意原生前綴pre-中的e讀短音/i/，而派生前綴pre- 中的e念長(zhǎng)音/i:/。

為便于埋解，這里先介紹派生前綴pre-與單詞綴合的例子。

prehistory [ pre- = before 前；history n. 歷史→] n. history before recorded history (歷史記載前的)史前史 / A team of archaeologists has discovered traces of a lost people of prehistory. 一隊(duì)考古學(xué)者已經(jīng)發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個(gè)不為人所知的史前民族的遺跡。

prehistoric a. (有記載的）歷史以前的；史前的

pre-election [pre- = before 在…前；election n. 選舉→]a. happened or said before election選舉前發(fā)生的；選舉前說(shuō)的/ He has completely forgotten his pre-election promises. 他已將選舉前的許諾忘得一干二凈。

premature [pre- = beforehand, early 事先，過(guò)早；mature a. 成熟的→]a . mature too early; before the proper time 早熟的；過(guò)早的 / A premature baby is one born more than two weeks early. 早產(chǎn)嬰兒指提早兩周以上出生的小孩。

prematurity n. 早熟，不成熟；過(guò)早，不到時(shí)

prejudge [ pre- = beforehand 事先；judge v. 判斷→]v. judge beforehand, especially without knowing all the facts 過(guò)早判斷 / The jury should keep an open mind during the trial and not prejudge the case. 陪審團(tuán)在審理過(guò)程中應(yīng)虛懷若谷，不可過(guò)早斷案。

prejudgement n. 過(guò)早判斷；不審而判