- de-
- 1. Away from, cessation, without; sometimes has an intensive force. 2. For names with this prefix not found here, see under the principal part of the name. [L. de, from, away]
* * *
prefix denoting1. removal or loss. Examples: demineralization (of minerals from bones or teeth); devascularization (of blood supply).2. reversal.* * *
[L. de away from, down from] a prefix often denoting negation or privation; it may signify down or away from, cessation, reversal, or removal. It sometimes has an intensive force.
Medical dictionary. 2011.