bel-

See also: Appendix:Variations of "bel"

English

Etymology

From Middle English bel (“fair, excellent"; in compounds "great-, grand-”), from Anglo-Norman bel, Old French bel (“beautiful, noble, honorable”).

Prefix

bel-

1. (obsolete, no longer productive) A prefix equivalent to grand-

   belchild (“grandchild”)

   beldame (“grandmother”)

   belsire (“grandfather”)

Hungarian

Etymology

Back-formation from belső (“interior”). Created during the Hungarian language reform, which took place in the 18th–19th centuries.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈbɛl]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: bel

Prefix

bel-

1. (noun prefix) interior, internal, domestic

   Antonym: kül-

   ‎bel- + ‎város (“city”) → ‎belváros (“city centre”)

Derived terms

Hungarian nouns prefixed with bel-

• belbecs
• belforgalom
• belgyógyász, belgyógyászat
• belharc
• belháború
• belhártya
• belkereskedelem
• belklinika
• belkörű (rare)
• belorvos
• belpolitika → belpolitikai
• beltag
• beltenger
• beltenyészet, beltenyésztés
• belterjes
• belterület
• belvilág
• belvillongás
• belviszály
• belvíz → belvízkár

Further reading

• bel- in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2024).

Indonesian

Prefix

bel-

1. Alternative form of ber-