Some prefixes put a word in time. pre- means “before”: a preview comes before the show, and to predict is to say before. post- means “after”: to postpone is to put after, and a postscript (P.S.) is written after the letter. A third prefix, ante-, also means “before” (an anteroom is the room you wait in before the main one).
Key idea
pre- and ante- = before. post- = after.
pre- is one of the busiest prefixes on the list: fifteen words use it. Many of them describe knowing or acting early: prescient (knowing before), preclude (shutting off before), precocious (ripening early).
The parts and their words
Words taken apart
| Word and meaning | Parts, and what they say |
|---|---|
| precursor something that comes before and leads to another | pre- before + curs run + -or one who → “one who runs before” |
| predecessor a person who held a job or position before someone else | pre- before + de- away + cess go + -or one who → “one who went away before” |
| prescient knowing about events before they happen | pre- before + sci know + -ent → “knowing before” |
| preclude to make impossible in advance | pre- before + clud shut → “shut off before” |
| precocious developed or advanced at an unusually early age | pre- early + coc cook, ripen + -ious → “ripened early” |
| antecedent something that comes before | ante- before + ced go + -ent → “going before” |
| antediluvian extremely old-fashioned | ante- before + diluv flood + -ian → “from before the flood” |
| posterity all future generations | post after + -er + -ity → “those coming after” |
| postpone to put off until later | post- after + pon put → “put after” |
Worked example: Use the parts
The P.S. at the bottom of a letter stands for postscript. What does the word mean?
- Take it apart: post- (after) + script (written, as in scribble and scripture).
- Literally: “written after.”
- A P.S. is a note added after the letter is finished.
Answer: A note added at the end of a letter, after the signature.
Meet the word
Common mistake
Mixing up ante- (before) and anti- (against). An antecedent comes before; an antidote works against a poison. Also beware posthumous (after death): it looks like post- + humus (earth), but it comes from Latin postumus, “last.” The h crept in later because people linked it with burial.
A word with a story: precocious comes from a Latin word for fruit that ripens early (pre-, early + coquere, to cook or ripen). A precocious child is one whose mind “ripens” early.