Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun An element in compound words of Greek origin, meaning ‘first,’ and denoting precedence in time, rank, or degree.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- A combining form prefix signifying
first ,primary ,primordial - Denoting the
first orlowest of a series , or the one having thesmallest amount of the element to the name of which it is prefixed; asprot oxide,proto chloride, etc. - Sometimes used as equivalent to
mono- , as indicating that the compound has butone atom of the element to the name of which it is prefixed. Also used adjectively.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- prefix
first - prefix linguistics Used to form the name of the hypothetical ancestor of a family of languages.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective indicating the first or earliest or original
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
From Ancient Greek πρωτο- (proto-), combination form of πρῶτος (protos, "first"), superlative of πρό (pro, "before").
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Examples
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Each of the proto-"Avengers'' movies ends with a post-credits teaser scene that advances the meta-narrative; the one in "Thor'' had the fan-guy sitting next to me reeling in shock.
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