Proto-

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: en, /ˈpɹəʊ.təʊ/
• US IPA: en, /pɹoÊŠ.toÊŠ/, pɹoÊŠ.ɾoÊŠ

Alternative forms

• prot-,

Origin

, combination form of πρῶτος, of πρό.

Full definition of proto-

Prefix

1. first
2. (linguistics, genetics) most recent common ancestor (often hypothetical) ofAll Indo-European languages from Albanian to Zazaki are descended from Proto-Indo-European.
3. (chemistry) Relating to protons and/or positive charge.

Synonyms

• ur-

Coordinate terms

• deutero-, deuter-
• trito-, trit-

Derived terms

• protocarbonate

Anagrams