preformative meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

preformative

noun

/priˈfoɹmətɪv/

Etymology From pre- (prefix meaning ‘before; physically in front of’) + formative, modelled after Late Latin praeformativus (originally used in relation to the grammar of Semitic languages).

In Semitic languages a formative letter, syllable, etc., at the beginning of a word.

Ch. a prefix prep. as in Hebrew, the sign of the dative; also of the genitive and accusative; and as a conj. before the future, which then rejects the preformative, that1828, Moses Stuart, A Grammar of the Hebrew Language:

Related terms: preforming

preformative

adj

Etymology From pre- (prefix meaning ‘before; physically in front of’) + formative, modelled after Late Latin praeformativus (originally used in relation to the grammar of Semitic languages).

Of or pertaining to preformation.

Of a thing: forming or affecting something that comes later.

Grammar, Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences In Semitic languages of a letter, syllable, etc.: attached to the beginning of a word as a formative element.