What term describes a syllable at the beginning of a word such as pre- or un-?

What term describes a syllable at the beginning of a word such as pre- or un-?

• A. Prefix
• B. Suffix
• C. Root
• D. Infix

Answer: (A)

A prefix is the element added to the front of a word to change its meaning. Pre- and un- show how prefixes work: they occur at the beginning of a word and modify what the base word means—like preheat or unhappy. This is different from a suffix, which comes at the end (such as -ing or -ed); a root, or base word, is the core word itself without any endings or beginnings; and an infix is an insertion inside a word (not common in English). So the beginning-attached syllable you’re thinking of is a prefix.

A prefix is the element added to the front of a word to change its meaning. Pre- and un- show how prefixes work: they occur at the beginning of a word and modify what the base word means—like preheat or unhappy. This is different from a suffix, which comes at the end (such as -ing or -ed); a root, or base word, is the core word itself without any endings or beginnings; and an infix is an insertion inside a word (not common in English). So the beginning-attached syllable you’re thinking of is a prefix.