bi-

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English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

  • bin- (before some vowel-initial roots)

Etymology[edit]

PIE word
*dwóh₁

Borrowed from Latin bi-, from Proto-Italic *dwi-, from Proto-Indo-European *dwi-. Doublet of twi-

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /baɪ-/, (rare) /bɪ-/

Prefix[edit]

Latin number prefix
Previous: uni-
Next: tri-

bi-

  1. two, paired, both
    Synonyms: di-, duo-
  2. (chemistry, proscribed) half
  3. (before a vowel) bio-

Usage notes[edit]

In an old, common method used to indicate the presence of an acidic hydrogen, sodium hydrogen sulfate is called "sodium bisulfate" and sodium hydrogen carbonate is called "sodium bicarbonate". This method is not recommended by IUPAC and does not denote a “doubling up” of a specific group, which is reserved for the Greek prefix di-, as in carbon dioxide (CO2).

The prefix bi in the older system comes from the observation that there is two times as much carbonate (CO3) in sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) and other bicarbonates as in sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) and other carbonates.

As a prefix for periods, bi- is ambiguously used to mean either “once every two periods” or “twice every period”; this is particularly acute for biweekly, bimonthly, and biannual. To avoid ambiguity, semi- or twice can be used to unambiguously mean “every half period” (thus twice every period) or “twice every period”, but there is no general way to refer unambiguously to “once every two periods”. In some cases a separate word is unambiguous, as in fortnightly (every two weeks), or biennial (every two years), but there is no word that unambiguously refers to “every two months”. Due to the ambiguity, some prefer to use explicit phrases, like “every two months” or “twice a month”.

Synonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Azerbaijani[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Persian بی(bi).

Pronunciation[edit]

IPA(key): [bi]

Prefix[edit]

bi-

  1. (rarely productive) -less, un-, in-.
    Synonym: -siz

Derived terms[edit]

Catalan[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin bis.

Prefix[edit]

bi-

  1. bi-

Derived terms[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Czech[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Latin bis.

Pronunciation[edit]

Prefix[edit]

bi-

  1. bi-

Related terms[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • bi- in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

Danish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From German bei- (by-).

Prefix[edit]

bi-

  1. by-, side-
    Synonym: side-

Etymology 2[edit]

From Latin bis (twice).

Prefix[edit]

bi-

  1. bi-
    Synonyms: di-, tve-, dobbelt-

See also[edit]

Finnish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Internationalism (see English bi-), ultimately from Latin bis.

Pronunciation[edit]

Prefix[edit]

bi-

  1. bi- (double, twin)
    Synonyms: see kaksois-

Derived terms[edit]

Category Finnish terms prefixed with bi- not found

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin bis (twice).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /bi/
  • (file)

Prefix[edit]

bi-

  1. bi-

Derived terms[edit]

Galician[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin bis.

Prefix[edit]

bi-

  1. bi-

Synonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Further reading[edit]

German[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin bis (twice).

Pronunciation[edit]

Prefix[edit]

bi-

  1. bi-

Derived terms[edit]

Gothic[edit]

Romanization[edit]

bi-

  1. Romanization of 𐌱𐌹-

Ido[edit]

Prefix[edit]

bi-

  1. bi-

Derived terms[edit]

Indonesian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Dutch bi-, from Latin bi-.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): [bi]
  • Hyphenation: bi

Prefix[edit]

bi-

  1. bi-: two, pair, both.

Derived terms[edit]

Category Indonesian terms prefixed with bi- not found

Further reading[edit]

Irish[edit]

Prefix[edit]

bi-

  1. Alternative form of bith-, used before a slender T.

Mutation[edit]

Irish mutation
Radical Lenition Eclipsis
bi- bhi- mbi-
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading[edit]

Italian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin bis (twice).

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /bi/
  • Hyphenation: bi-

Prefix[edit]

bi-

  1. bi-
  2. di-

Derived terms[edit]

Latin[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Italic *dwi-, from Proto-Indo-European *dwi- (two-; twice-), prefix form corresponding to the numeral *dwóh₁ (two); the origin in PIE of the *i here is uncertain.[1].

Pronunciation[edit]

Prefix[edit]

bi-

  1. having two parts
  2. occurring twice

Derived terms[edit]

References[edit]

  • bi-”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • bi-” on page 231/3 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)
  1. ^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008), “bi-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 71

Middle English[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Inherited from Old English be-, from Proto-West Germanic *bi-, from Proto-Germanic *bi-, from *bi-; compare by-.

The pronunciation /bi-/ (instead of expected /bə-/) is probably due to the influence of the preposition by.

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Prefix[edit]

bi-

  1. A prefix forming transitive verbs from any content word, often denoting completion or thoroughness.
  2. A prefix forming prepositions, often denoting adjacency, position, or relation.
Derived terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
  • English: be-
  • Scots: be-
References[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Prefix[edit]

bi-

  1. Alternative form of by-

Navajo[edit]

Prefix[edit]

bi-

  1. his, her, its, their

Usage notes[edit]

This prefix often corresponds to an English possessive ’s appended to the preceding word. For example, Diné bizaad means literally “the People their-language”, equivalent to “the People’s language” (i.e., Navajo language).

Related terms[edit]

See also[edit]

Northern Kurdish[edit]

Prefix[edit]

bi-

  1. forms the affirmative subjunctive mood of verbs.

Norwegian Bokmål[edit]

Prefix[edit]

bi-

  1. by-, by, side
  2. bi-

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Norwegian Nynorsk[edit]

Prefix[edit]

bi-

  1. by-, by, side
  2. bi-

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Ojibwe[edit]

Preverb[edit]

bi-

  1. this way, here, hither (toward the speaker)
    Bi-anokiin.
    Come and work.

Related terms[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Old English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From (by, near, around).

Pronunciation[edit]

Prefix[edit]

bī-

  1. near, around (compare Latin para-)
    bi- + ‎nama → ‎bīnama (pronoun)
    bi- + ‎word → ‎bīword (proverb, byword)

Usage notes[edit]

  • Occurred primarily in nouns.

Derived terms[edit]

  • bīgenga (inhabitant; observer; benefactor)
  • bīleofa (support, sustenance, nourishment, capital)
  • bīswæc (treachery)

Descendants[edit]

Old Saxon[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

An unstressed form of , from Proto-West Germanic *bī-.

Prefix[edit]

bi-

  1. A productive prefix usually used to form verbs and adjectives, especially verbs with the sense “around, throughout” or makes transitive verbs from intransitive verbs, adjectives and nouns.
    bi- + ‎brekan → ‎bibrekan (to break)
    bi- + ‎brengian → ‎bibrengian (to accomplish)
    bi- + ‎dēlian → ‎bidēlian (to deprive)
    bi- + ‎delvan → ‎bidelvan (to bury)
    bi- + ‎dempian → ‎bidempian (to suffocate)
    bi- + ‎dernian → ‎bidernian (to conceal, to hide)
    bi- + ‎dōdian → ‎bidōdian (to kill)
    bi- + ‎driogan → ‎bidriogan (to deceive)
    bi- + ‎drōragon → ‎bidrōragon (to bleed to death)
    bi- + ‎dumbilian → ‎bidumbilian (to make a fool)
    bi- + ‎*dwellian → ‎bidwellian (to hinder)
    bi- + ‎fāhan → ‎bifāhan (to embrace, seize)
    bi- + ‎fallan → ‎bifallan (to befall)
    bi- + ‎felhan → ‎bifelhan (to recommend, give over, confide)
    bi- + ‎fellian → ‎bifellian (to throw down)
    bi- + ‎findan → ‎bifindan (to notice, find out)
    bi- + ‎gangan → ‎bigān, bigangan (to celebrate)
    bi- + ‎gehan → ‎bigehan (to dare, confess)
Derived terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From (by, near, around).

Prefix[edit]

bī-

  1. prefix meaning near, around (compare Latin para-), occurring primarily in nouns
    bi- + ‎word → ‎bīword (proverb, byword)
Derived terms[edit]

Polish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin bis.

Pronunciation[edit]

Prefix[edit]

bi-

  1. bi-, two
    bi- + ‎-gamia → ‎bigamia
    Synonyms: dwu-, di-, dy-

Derived terms[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • bi- in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • bi- in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Latin bis.

Prefix[edit]

bi-

  1. bi- (two-)

Derived terms[edit]

Spanish[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin bis (twice).

Prefix[edit]

bi-

  1. bi-
    Synonyms: di-, duo-

Derived terms[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Swedish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Prefix[edit]

bi-

  1. by-, next to, near, by the side, aside; same as English by- and German bei-; see also the rare preposition bi
  2. bi-, two, dual; from Latin bis (twice)

Derived terms[edit]