ISEE/SSAT Vocabulary Builder›Word parts›Prefixes›ab
PrefixLatin
ab
away from, off of
Latin ab meant 'away': abductors lead someone away, abstainers hold themselves away, and an abrupt edge seems broken off.
Words built from it
- abstain — to hold oneself back from doing something
ab- (away) + tain (hold) - abduct — to take someone away by force
ab- (away) + duct (lead) - abrupt — sudden and unexpected
ab- (off) + rupt (broken) - abhor — to regard with disgust and hatred
ab- (away) + hor (shudder) - abrogate — to repeal or do away with a law
ab- (away) + rogate (propose a law) - abstruse — difficult to understand
ab- (away) + trude (push)
Looks like it, but is not
- abate — from Old French abattre 'to beat down' (Latin ad- 'to' + battuere 'to beat'); unrelated to the away-from ab- prefix
- ability — from Latin habilitas 'aptitude' through French, not ab- 'away'
- abridge — shares the same ad- + brevis 'short' root as abbreviate, not the away-from ab- prefix
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