prefix
Etymology: Middle English, from Old French de-, des-, partly from Latin de- from, down, away (from de ) and partly from Latin dis-; Latin de akin to Old Irish di from, Greek dē now, then, Old English tō to — more at to , dis-
1.
a. : do the opposite of : reverse (a specified action)
de centralize
de code
b. : reverse of
de calescence
2. : remove (a specified thing or things) from
de horn
de louse
: remove from (a specified thing)
de throne
3. : reduce : make lower
de rate
4.
[Latin]
: something derived or compounded from (a specified thing)
de compound, n.
: derived or compounded from something (of a specified nature)
de compound, adj.
— often in grammatical terms (nouns or adjectives) ending in -al or -ative
de adjectival
de verbative
5. : get off of (a specified thing)
de bus
de train
6. : having a molecule characterized by the removal of one or more atoms of (a specified element) — in combining forms occurring in names of chemical compounds
de hydro-
de oxy-
7. : cause to cease to (perform a specified action)
de -emanate