proto-
a combining form meaning “first,” “foremost,” “earliest form of,” used in the formation of compound words (protomartyr; protolithic; protoplasm), specialized in chemical terminology to denote the first of a series of compounds, or the one containing the minimum amount of an element.
Origin of proto-
1- Also especially before a vowel, prot-.
Words Nearby proto-
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use proto- in a sentence
There are also funding and logistical imperatives for ISIS to pursue the proto-state strategy.
Iraq’s Terrorists Are Becoming a Full-Blown Army | Eli Lake, Jamie Dettmer, Nadette De Visser | June 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTNo one was using Final Cut, so it was this Proto Editing program.
Casey Affleck, Star of ‘Out of the Furnace,’ on His Hollywood Struggles | Marlow Stern | December 2, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTSuch proto-tweets allowed some full-time gossips to work as compilers of the “trending” topics of the day.
There is "water" in English, "wasser" in German, "vatten" in Swedish, all cognates emanating from "wator" in proto-German.
In the current proto-populist climate, complicated could actually win for a change.
If the Congressional Supercommittee Fails, Who Wins? | Michael Tomasky | November 19, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
The influence of the leisure class is not consistently for or against the rehabilitation of this proto-anthropoid human nature.
The Theory of the Leisure Class | Thorstein VeblenThe oxygen of the atmosphere also unites with certain minerals, such as the proto-salts of iron, and converts them into peroxides.
Geology | James GeikieAs far as he knew, there was no such thing as a proto-man myth in wide currency around the galaxy.
Equation of Doom | Gerald VanceRemember this, though: I cannot tell you what to expect when you reach the original home of proto-man.
Equation of Doom | Gerald VanceOr must proto-man, like humans everywhere, fall victim to subjective time if objective time did not matter for him?
Equation of Doom | Gerald Vance
British Dictionary definitions for proto-
indicating the first in time, order, or rank: protomartyr
primitive, ancestral, or original: prototype
indicating the reconstructed earliest stage of a language: Proto-Germanic
indicating the first in a series of chemical compounds: protoxide
indicating the parent of a chemical compound or an element: protactinium
Origin of proto-
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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