·- A prefix from the latin preposition, ex, akin to ·Gr. 'ex or 'ek signifying out of, out, proceeding from. Hence, in composition, it signifies out of, as, in exhale, exclude; off, from, or out. as in exscind; beyond, as, in excess, exceed, excel; and sometimes has a privative sense of without, as in exalbuminuos, exsanguinous. In some words, it intensifies the meaning; in others, it has little affect on the signification. It becomes ef- before f, as in effuse. The form e- occurs instead of ex- before b, d, g, l, m, n, r, and v, as in ebullient, emanate, enormous, ·etc. In words from the French it often appears as es-, sometimes as s- or e-; as, escape, scape, elite. Ex-, prefixed to names implying office, station, condition, denotes that the person formerly held the office, or is out of the office or condition now; as, ex-president, ex-governor, ex-mayor, ex-convict. The Greek form 'ex becomes ex in English, as in exarch; 'ek becomes ec, as in eccentric.

ex- is added to nouns to show that someone or something is no longer the thing referred to by that noun. For example, a woman's ex-husband is no longer her husband.

ex-¹

(also e-; ef- before f)

¦ prefix

1. out: exclude.

2. upward: extol.

3. thoroughly: excruciate.

4. denoting removal or release: excommunicate.

5. forming verbs which denote inducement of a state: exasperate.

6. denoting a former state: ex-husband.

from L. ex 'out of'.

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ex-²

¦ prefix out: exodus.

from Gk ex 'out of'.