ur-
Prefix meaning primitive
Ur- is a prefix meaning original, primitive, or earliest form.
It comes from German and attaches to nouns to indicate the primordial version of something: the ur-text is the original manuscript from which copies derive, an ur-language is the hypothetical ancestor of a language family.
In casual use, ur- marks something as the archetypal or quintessential example: Hitchcock's Psycho is the ur-slasher film.
Prefix denoting earliest
ancestral · primeval · archaic · primal · fundamental · source · root · genesis
First functional specimen
- templatePreset pattern for reproduction
- archetypeOriginal model for copies
- exemplarTypical perfect instance
- modelRepresentation or paradigm
paradigm · original · quintessential · essential · ideal · pure · fundamental · definitive
Hypothetical common ancestor language
- Indo-EuropeanVast language family
- etymologyWord origin study
- cognateWord sharing etymological origin
- rootUnderground absorbing structure
prefix · morpheme · derivation · philology · Sanskrit · reconstruction · ancestor · stem
proto
Prefix denoting earliest
earliest · ancestral · primeval · archaic · primal · fundamental · source · root · genesis · dawn
prototype
First functional specimen
- templatePreset pattern for reproduction
- archetypeOriginal model for copies
- exemplarTypical perfect instance
model · paradigm · original · quintessential · essential · ideal · pure · fundamental · definitive · canonical
Proto-Germanic
Hypothetical common ancestor language
- Indo-EuropeanVast language family
- etymologyWord origin study
- cognateWord sharing etymological origin
root · prefix · morpheme · derivation · philology · Sanskrit · reconstruction · ancestor · stem · base