to-

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English

Etymology 1

From Middle English to-, from Old English tō-, te- (apart, away), from Proto-Germanic *twiz- (apart, in two), from Proto-Indo-European *dwis- (two-ways, in twain).

Prefix

to-

  1. (no longer productive) apart, away, asunder, in pieces; expressing separation, negation, or intensity[1].
Derived terms

Etymology 2

From to.

Prefix

to-

  1. (rare, dialectal or no longer productive) to, toward, at, or on (this).
    today
    tomorrow
    tonight
    together
Derived terms

References

  1. ^ Whitney, The Century dictionary and cyclopedia, to-

See also

Anagrams


Classical Nahuatl

Pronunciation

Prefix

to-

Etymology 1

  1. (personal prefix, possessive) Used to form the first-person plural possessive of nouns: our. Can combine with relational words to form relational adverbs.
    nāntzintli (mother)tonāntzin (our mother)
    calli (house)tocal (our house)
    -tlōc (beside)totlōc (beside us)

Derived terms

Category Classical Nahuatl nouns prefixed with to- not found

Etymology 2

  1. (personal prefix, reflexive) Used to form the first-person plural reflexive of transitive verbs: ourselves. May also indicate reciprocity between the 1st person party: we ____ each other. For certain verbs, this imparts an intransitive sense rather than a strictly reflexive one.
    titītza (to stretch something)titotitītzah (We stretch (ourselves))
    itta (to see something)titottah (We see ourselves, We look at each other)
    tolīnia (to bother someone, to make suffer)titotolīniah (We suffer, We are bothered)

Usage notes

As with the other reflexive prefixes and tla-, this prefixes causes deletion of initial i in verbs such as itta or ilpia, with the exception of verbs beginning with ih- such as ihquiti.

See also


Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology 1

From to (in the direction of), from Old English .

Prefix

to-

  1. Affixed to verbs and verb inflections to impart a sense of motion, directionality and/or extension.
  2. Affixed to adjectives, adverbs and prepositions to impart a sense of approach, extension and/or proximity.
  3. (rare) Affixed to nouns to impart a sense of motion, directionality and/or extension.
Derived terms
Verbs and inflections formed with to-
Adjectives, adverbs and prepositions formed with to-
Nouns formed with to-
Descendants
  • English: to-

References

Alternative forms

Etymology 2

From Old English tō-, te- (apart, asunder).

Prefix

to-

  1. Appended to verbs and nouns to impart a sense of separation and/or departure.
  2. Appended to verbs and nouns to intensify or emphasise the meaning.
Derived terms
Verbs and inflections formed with to-
Nouns formed with to-
Descendants

References


Old English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *twiz-, from Proto-Indo-European *dwís. Cognate with Old Frisian ti-, te-, Old Saxon te-, Old High German zi-, zir-, zar-, zur- (German zer-), Gothic 𐌳𐌹𐍃- (dis-), and with Latin dis-.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈtoː/ (as a nominal prefix)
  • IPA(key): /toː/ (as a verbal prefix)

Prefix

tō-

  1. verbal prefix with a sense of "in pieces, apart, asunder", or with intensive force
    tefeallan, tōfeallanto fall apart
    titwǣman, tōtwǣmanto separate
    tetorfian, tōtorfianto toss about
  2. used to form substantives from other nouns
    tōtalureputation
    tōsprǣċconversation

Usage notes

  • The prefix has two basic forms: stressed (tō-) and unstressed (te-, ti-). Originally, the unstressed formed verbs, and the stressed formed other derivatives (nouns, adverbs, etc). This distinction was blurred in later Old English where the stressed form came to be used for both.

Derived terms


Old Irish

Alternative forms

  • do- (pretonic form)

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *tu-.

Prefix

to- (pretonic do-)

  1. to, towards

Derived terms


Old Saxon

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *tō.

Prefix

to-

  1. Creates words with a sense of ‘towards, to, against’
    tōdōn (to add; to close)
    tōheftian (to fix)
    tōhlinon (to lean against)
    tōhnēgian (to neigh towards)
    tōrūnon (to whisper)
    tōsprekan (to speak with, discuss, talk to)
    tōstōtan (to push, thrust)
    tōward (future)
    tōwardes (near)
    tōwardig (near)
    tōwendian (to turn towards)

Derived terms

Category Old Saxon terms prefixed with to- not found

Ternate

Pronoun

to-

  1. I (proclitic)

References

  • Rika Hayami-Allen (2001). A Descriptive Study of the Language of Ternate, the Northern Moluccas, Indonesia. University of Pittsburgh.