What term refers to a group of letters added at the beginning of a word to change its meaning?

What term refers to a group of letters added at the beginning of a word to change its meaning?

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

Answer: (C)

Think about how word meaning can be changed by adding pieces to it. A prefix is a group of letters placed at the beginning of a word that can alter its meaning. For example, adding un- to happy gives unhappy (not happy), or adding re- to write gives rewrite (do/write again), or adding pre- to view gives preview (before viewing). This is different from a suffix, which goes at the end of a word (like -ed or -ing), and from the root, which is the base word without any added pieces. So the term for a group of letters added at the beginning to change meaning is prefix.

Think about how word meaning can be changed by adding pieces to it. A prefix is a group of letters placed at the beginning of a word that can alter its meaning. For example, adding un- to happy gives unhappy (not happy), or adding re- to write gives rewrite (do/write again), or adding pre- to view gives preview (before viewing). This is different from a suffix, which goes at the end of a word (like -ed or -ing), and from the root, which is the base word without any added pieces. So the term for a group of letters added at the beginning to change meaning is prefix.