pra-

Pra-: Ancient or Earlier

Level 5

Pra- shows a time very long ago, or one more generation in a family word.

How It Works

WordWith pra-Meaning
tempopratempothe very first time, prehistory
arbaropraarbaroprimeval forest
avopraavogreat-grandfather
nepopranepogreat-grandson
patroprapatroa distant male ancestor

With words such as tempo, pra- means very long ago or primitive. A pratempo is the starting time of humankind or of the world.

With family words such as avo, nepo, onklo and nevo, pra- moves one generation further away, and you use one pra- for each generation: avo, praavo, prapraavo. With patro and filo it points to a distant relative, many generations back or ahead. The plural prapatroj is a common way to say ancestors.

Family words such as avo and nepo name men, so add -in- for a woman: praavino, pranepino.

Examples (5)

  1. Tomasz montras al Kenji malnovan foton de sia praavo.

    Tomasz shows Kenji an old photo of his great-grandfather.

    Praavo is the father of a grandparent.

  2. En la muzeo en Tokio Kofi rigardas ilojn el la pratempo.

    In the museum in Tokyo, Kofi looks at tools from prehistoric times.

    Pratempo names a time very long ago.

  3. Ewa havas jam du nepinojn kaj unu pranepon.

    Ewa already has two granddaughters and one great-grandson.

    Pranepo is the son of a grandchild, and the -n ending marks the object.

  4. Giorgio rakontas al Hiro pri sia prapraavo, kiu veturis el Italio al Brazilo.

    Giorgio tells Hiro about his great-great-grandfather, who traveled from Italy to Brazil.

    Two pra- count two generations beyond avo.

  5. Hiro scias, ke liaj praavoj loĝis apud la maro.

    Hiro knows that his great-grandfathers lived by the sea.

    The plural praavoj has the -j ending like any other noun.

How It Connects

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pra-Level 5Pra-: Ancient or Earlier

Learn This First

Pra- places something far back in time. With family words such as avo and nepo, it adds a generation further away.