Ab-

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ab- (also abs- before certain consonants) is an English prefix. In Latin it was both a prefix and a preposition meaning ""off, away (from)" and expressed the idea of removal, ab- sence, separation, or a lower value. It first appeared in English in the Middle English period in words borrowed from Old French, and continued to be borrowed in Modern French words and eventually from Classical Latin, especially in the vocabulary of science, medicine, botany, etc.

• The prefix ab- (short for ab- solute) is also used to indicate "absolute" in units used in electromagnetism, such as abhenry for inductance, abohm for resistance and abvolt for potential.

See also

List of English prefixes