ante-

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1. These two prefixes need to be distinguished, if only to ensure correct spelling. The first means 'before, preceding' and forms words such as antenatal ('before birth') and antechamber ('a room leading to another'). The second, which is much more common, means 'opposite, opposed to, against', and forms words such as anti-aircraft, anti-American, and anti-hero ('the opposite of a hero').

2. The Old English (up to 1150)D points out that the model for all these words is Antichrist and its derivative antichristian, which along with antipope were the only examples in use before 1600. There are no anti- combinations in Shakespeare.

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pref.

1. Prior to; earlier: antenatal.
2. In front of; before: antebrachium.

For a list of words related to ante-, see:

• Prefixes - ante-: before (antebellum)
• Relative Time - ante-: prefix meaning before or prior to

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Dansk (Danish)
pref. - for-, forud-, før-

Français (French)
pref. - (préf) anté- indiquant l'antériorité, anti- signifiant contre

Deutsch (German)
pref. - vor, vorher

Ελληνική (Greek)
pref. - προ-

Español (Spanish)
pref. - antes, ante_

Svenska (Swedish)
pref. - före

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
早于, 在前

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
pref. - 早於, 在前

한국어 (Korean)
pref. - before라는 뜻의 연결형

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(بادئه الكلم- ه) بادئه معناها قبل‏

עברית (Hebrew)
pref. - ‮(תחילית) לפני‬

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