prefixless

Prefixless is an adjective used to describe something that lacks a prefix. In linguistics, a prefixless word or form is the base form that does not begin with a derivational or inflectional prefix. Prefix-bearing forms are contrasted with prefixless ones. For example, dog, cat, and run are prefixless, while unhappy (un- + happy) and reappear (re- + appear) are not. Prefixless roots can still take suffixes to form new words, such as care → careful or hope → hopefully, depending on the language.

In historical linguistics, some words that are now prefixless may have originated from prefixes that were lost or fused in the course of language change, a process sometimes described as zero derivation or reduction.

In computing and software development, prefixless can describe identifiers, domain names, or naming conventions that omit prefixes used to indicate type, scope, or category. Some style guides advocate prefixless names for readability, while others support more systematic prefix schemes. The term is thus used across domains to indicate the absence of an initial affix, whether in natural language morphology or in systematic naming practices.

See also: root word, derivation, prefix, suffix, zero derivation, naming convention.