Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “ab-” come from?

ab- (English) comes from English absolute, from Middle English absolut, from Middle French absolut, from Latin absolūtus, from Latin absolvō, from Latin solvo, from Latin sē-, from Latin sex — six.

ab- (English): From; Away from; outside of; A unit of...

Definitions

  1. From; Away from; outside of; A unit of...

Ancestry of “ab-”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishabsoluteFree of restrictions, limitations, qualifications...
2Middle Englishabsolut—
3Middle Frenchabsolut—
4Latinabsolūtus—
5Latinabsolvō—
6LatinsolvoI loosen, untie, undo; free , release, acquit,...
7Latinsē-—
8Latinsexsix; 6
9Proto-Italicsekssix
10Proto-Indo-Europeanswéḱssix

Words derived from “ab-”

  • abnormal
  • abnormality
  • abnormally
  • aboral
  • abaxial
  • abnormity
  • abactinal
  • abluminal
  • abnormalcy
  • aborally
  • abaxially
  • aborad
  • abembryonic
  • abnormalism
  • abampere
  • abneural
  • abvolt
  • abintestate
  • absonant
  • abnormalization
  • abnormalness
  • abfarad
  • abohm
  • abnormalize
Every word from Proto-Indo-European swéḱs →