proto-
proto- definition
proto- (prōt′ō, -ə)
- first in time, original, primitive protoplast
- first in importance, principal, chief protonotary
- prehistoric or original: said of a people or language Proto-Germanic
- on the way to becoming the (specified) thing or kind of person proto-suburbia, a proto-terrorist
- on the way to having the (specified) quality or relationship a proto-Cubist painting
- Chem.
- being that member of a series of compounds having the lowest proportion of the (specified) element or radical protoxide
- being the parent form of a (specified) substance
Etymology: Gr prōto- < prōtos, first < IE *pṛto- < base *pro-, early, ahead > L pro-, Gr pro-
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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