Prefixes – Words with ad-

The ad- prefix is primarily a Latin preposition meaning ‘to, near, at’; it is distantly related to the English word at. Even in Latin it was much used as a prefix.
Its oldest meaning remains clear in some words . Adjacent means ‘lying by or near’. Adhere means ‘to stick to’, whether it is a stamp sticking to an envelope or people sticking to their principles.
If you adapt yourself to prevailing conditions you ‘adjust to’ them. Not long ago in English admire meant only ‘to wonder at, be surprised at’. (The root mir occurs in words like miracle.) Now admire usually means ‘to have great esteem for’.
Two things that are in accord are the same ‘at heart’. So the noun accord has come to mean ‘agreement, harmony’, and the verb means ‘to agree or be in harmony with’. It has gained the secondary meaning of ‘to treat in agreement with what is right and proper’. You can, for instance, accord someone a fine welcome.
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