m-

See also: Appendix:Variations of "m" and mu-

Translingual

Prefix

m-

1. (SI prefix) Abbreviation of English milli-
2. (biology) murine; pertaining to mice

Coordinate terms

murine

• h-

Derived terms

Translingual terms prefixed with m-

mas

mg

ml

mL

mm

ms

mV

mℓ

English

Prefix

m-

1. (organic chemistry) meta-

See also

• o-
• p-

Akan

Prefix

m-

1. alternative form of n- before labials

Albanian

Prefix

m-

1. alternative form of n- before labials

Basque

Etymology

Compare the expressive prefix ma-.

Prefix

m-

1. Non-productive expressive prefix.

Usage notes

Usually, this prefix takes the form /ma/, /mi/, /mu/, followed by a velar or coronal plosive, followed by any vowel, followed by a liquid. For example: mozkor (“drunk”), mutur (“snout, end”), makur (“crooked”).

References

• R. L. Trask (2008), “m-”, in Max W. Wheeler, editor, Etymological Dictionary of Basque, University of Sussex, page 201

Chichewa

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀-.

Prefix

m-

1. Contraction of mu-.
   1. Class 1 noun prefix
   2. Second person plural subject concord

Egyptian

Etymology

From Proto-Afroasiatic *m- (nominal prefix). Cognate with Proto-Berber *-m- and Arabic مَـ (ma-).

Pronunciation

 

• (reconstructed) IPA^(key): /ma-/, /mi-/, /mV-/

• (Old Egyptian, c. 2350 BCE) IPA^(key): /ma-/, /mi-/, /mV-/

  where V represents an unknown short vowel.

• (modern Egyptological) IPA^(key): /mɛ/
  • Conventional anglicization: me-

Prefix

1. forms masculine abstract nouns from verbs, with the resulting root structure /ˈmiCCiC/
2. forms agent nouns from verbs, with the resulting root structure /ˈmaCCaC/ or /mVCˈCiCVw/ if masculine and /maCˈCaːCit/ or /mVCˈCiCwVt/ if feminine
3. forms instrumental nouns from verbs, with the resulting root structure /ˈmaCCaC/ or /mVCˈCiCVw/ if masculine and /maCˈCaːCit/ or /mVCˈCiCwVt/ if feminine
4. forms passive nouns from verbs, with the resulting root structure /miˈCuːCiC/ if masculine and /miˈCuCCit/ if feminine
5. forms nouns from other nouns with no apparent change in meaning, with the resulting root structure unchanged but for the addition of /ma-/ and the loss of final -w in masculine nouns
6. forms nomina loci from verbs and nouns

Alternative forms

If followed by a labial consonant, this prefix dissimilated to n- in prehistoric times.

Derived terms

Egyptian terms prefixed with m-

mꜣr

mꜣqt

mꜥnḏt

mnḫt

mrḥt

mfkꜣt

nb

nms

mnhz

mḥsḥs

mḫꜣt

mẖꜥqt

mẖnt

mzwr

msjꜣt

msꜣḏt

msḫn

msqt

msdmt

msḏr

מכנסיים

mṯwn

References

• Gundacker, Roman (2011) “On the Etymology of the Egyptian Crown Name mrsw.t*: An “Irregular” Subgroup of m-Prefix Formations” in Lingua Aegyptia, volume 19, page 41–44

Kamba

Alternative forms

• mu-

Prefix

m-

1. you plural (used for conjugating verbs to the subjective or nominative case of the personal pronoun)

Northern Ndebele

Prefix

m-

1. him, her, it; class 1 object concord; form of mu- used before stems of more than one syllable.

Old Irish

Prefix

m- (class A infixed pronoun, triggers lenition)

1. me

Derived terms

Old Irish terms prefixed with m-

dumem

nommoídim

See also

Old Irish affixed pronouns

See Appendix:Old Irish affixed pronouns for details on how these forms are used. Note that the so-called “infixed” pronouns are technically prefixes, but they are never the first prefix in a verbal complex.
person	infixed			suffixed
	class A	class B	class C
1 sg	m-L	dom-L, dam-L		-um
2 sg	t-L	dot-L, dat-L, dut-L, dit-L		-ut
3 sg m	a-N, e-N	d-N	id-N, did-N, d-N	-i, -it
3 sg f	s-(N)	da-		-us
3 sg n	a-L, e-L	d-L	id-L, did-L, d-L	-i, -it
1 pl	n-	don-, dun-, dan-		-unn
2 pl	b-	dob-, dub-, dab-		-uib
3 pl	s-(N)	da-		-us

^L means this form triggers lenition.
^N means this form triggers nasalization (eclipsis)
^(N) means this form triggers nasalization in some texts but not in others.

Senhaja de Srair

Etymology

Etymology tree

Arabic مُـ (mu-)

Moroccan Arabic مـ (m-)bor.

Senhaja de Srair m-

Borrowed from Moroccan Arabic مـ (m-), from Arabic مُـ (mu-).

Prefix

m- (Tifinagh spelling ⵎ-)

1. verbal prefix forming participles

   ‎m- + ‎ɛesseb (“to become angry”) → ‎mɛesseb (“angry”)

Derived terms

Senhaja de Srair terms prefixed with m-

mecwi

mdexxel

mqelleq

mezyan

mɛellem

mɛemmer

mɛesseb

mɣaylef

mḥemmer

meḥtaj

References

Gutova, Evgeniya; Byler, Jonathan (2025), “Senhaja de Srair - English Dictionary”, in Webonary‎^[1], retrieved 2025 Gutova, Evgeniya (2021) Senhaja Berber Varieties: Phonology, Morphology, and Morphosyntax (Thesis)‎^[2], Paris, France: HAL

Shambala

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀-

Prefix

m-

1. 2nd person plural subject concord.

References

• August Seidel (1895), Handbuch der Shambala-sprache in Usambara, Deutsch-Ostafrika. Mit Texten, einem Shambala-Deutschen und einem Deutsch-Shambala-Wörterbuch‎^[3], Dresden-Leipzig, page 12

Southern Ndebele

Prefix

m-

1. him, her, it; class 1 object concord; form of mu- used before stems of more than one syllable.

Swahili

Alternative forms

• (etymologies 1 to 5) mu-, mw-
• (etymology 6) n-, ny-

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Sabaki *mu- (“class-1 noun prefix”), from Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀-.

In Sabaki, cognate with Ngazidja Comorian m- and Giryama mu-. Other Bantu cognates include Rwanda-Rundi mu- and Zulu mu- ~ m-.

Prefix

m- (plural wa-)

1. m class_(I) noun prefix and adjective agreement prefix, denoting mostly people

   mtoto mzuri ― a nice child

   mnyama mnono ― a fat animal

   1. Forms the name of somebody who does something, has a certain characteristic, or is from a certain place.

      ‎m- + ‎Kenya → ‎Mkenya (“person from Kenya”)

      ‎m- + ‎zee (“old”) → ‎mzee (“old person”)

Etymology 2

Inherited from Proto-Sabaki *mu- (“class-3 noun prefix”), from Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀-.

In Sabaki, cognate with Ngazidja Comorian m- and Giryama mu-. Other Bantu cognates include Rwanda-Rundi mu- and Zulu mu- ~ m-.

Prefix

m- (plural mi-)

1. m class_(III) noun prefix and adjective agreement prefix, denoting mostly plants and inanimate natural things

   mti mrefu ― a tall tree

   mfano mzuri ― a nice example

   1. Forms the name of a plant from its fruit.

      ‎m- + ‎chungwa (“orange”) → ‎mchungwa (“orange tree”)

2. u class_(XI) adjective agreement prefix

   ulimi mrefu ― a long tongue

See also

• Appendix:Swahili noun classes

Etymology 3

Inherited from Proto-Sabaki *mu- (“class-18 adjective agreement prefix”), from Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀-.

In Sabaki, cognate with Ngazidja Comorian m- and Giryama mu-. Other Bantu cognates include Shona mu-.

Prefix

m-

1. mu class_(XVIII) adjective agreement prefix, denoting location inside

   nyumbani mdogo ― in a small house

See also

• Appendix:Swahili noun classes

Etymology 4

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀-.

Prefix

m-

1. you, 2nd person plural subject concord

   Antonym: ham-

2. verb-initial form of -m- (“her, him; 3rd person singular (m class_(I)) object concord”)

See also

Swahili personal pronouns (m-wa class_(I/II))

	person	independent	subject concord		object concord	combined forms			possessive
			affirmative	negative		na	ndi-	si-
singular	first	mimi	ni-	si-	-ni-	nami, na mimi	ndimi, ndiye	simi, siye	-angu
	second	wewe	u-	hu-	-ku-	nawe, na wewe	ndiwe, ndiye	siwe, siye	-ako
	third	yeye	a-, yu-	ha-, hayu-	-m-, -mw-, -mu-	naye, na yeye	ndiye	siye	-ake
plural	first	sisi	tu-	hatu-	-tu-	nasi, na sisi	ndisi, ndio	sio	-etu
	second	ninyi	m-, mw-, mu-	ham-, hamw-, hamu-	-wa-	nanyi, na ninyi	ndinyi, ndio	sinyi, sio	-enu
	third	wao	wa-	hawa-	-wa-	nao	ndio	sio	-ao
reflexive		—	—		-ji-	—			—

For a full table including other classes, see Appendix:Swahili personal pronouns.

Etymology 5

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *mʊ́-.

Prefix

m-

1. therein, mu class_(XVIII) subject concord

   Antonym: ham-

See also

Swahili verbal concords (third person)

class	subject concord		object concord	relative
	affirmative	negative
m(I)	a-, yu-	ha-, hayu-	-m-, -mw-, -mu-	-ye
wa(II)	wa-	hawa-	-wa-	-o
m(III)	u-	hau-	-u-	-o
mi(IV)	i-	hai-	-i-	-yo
ji(V)	li-	hali-	-li-	-lo
ma(VI)	ya-	haya-	-ya-	-yo
ki(VII)	ki-	haki-	-ki-	-cho
vi(VIII)	vi-	havi-	-vi-	-vyo
n(IX)	i-	hai-	-i-	-yo
n(X)	zi-	hazi-	-zi-	-zo
u(XI)	u-	hau-	-u-	-o
ku(XV/XVII)	ku-	haku-	-ku-	-ko
pa(XVI)	pa-	hapa-	-pa-	-po
mu(XVIII)	m-, mw-, mu-	ham-, hamw-, hamu-	-mu-	-mo

For a full table including first and second person,
see Appendix:Swahili personal pronouns

Etymology 6

Inherited from Proto-Sabaki *m- (form of *n- before labials), from Proto-Bantu *ǹ- (class 9/10 noun prefix).

In Sabaki, cognate with Ngazidja Comorian n- and Giryama n-. Other Bantu cognates include Rwanda-Rundi n- and Zulu n-. All these cognates become m- before labials.

Prefix

m- (plural m-)

1. n class_(IX/X) noun prefix and adjective agreement prefix, including for plurals of some u class_(XI) nouns, used before labial consonants

   mvua mbaya ― bad rain

   ‎ubavu (“rib, side”) → ‎mbavu (“ribs, sides”)

Swazi

Prefix

m-

1. him, her, it; class 1 object concord; form of mu- used before stems of more than one syllable.

Xhosa

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀-.

Prefix

m-

1. him, her, it; class 1 object concord.

Yao (Africa)

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Bantu *mʊ̀-. Cognate with Chichewa m- (“Contraction of "mu-"”)

Prefix

m-

1. Contraction of mu-
   1. Class 1 noun prefix before consonants
   2. 2nd person plural subject concord before consonants.

References

• Rev. Alexander Hetherwick, M.A., F.R.G.S. (1902), A Handbook of the Yao Language‎^[4], Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, page 32
• Meredith Sanderson, M.R.C.S., F.R.G.S., F.R.A.I. (1922), A Yao Grammar‎^[5], Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, page 36

Ye'kwana

Alternative forms

• mi- (allomorph before a consonant)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [m-]

Prefix

m-

1. Marks a transitive verb as having a second-person agent/subject.
2. Marks an intransitive verb with agent-like argument as having a second-person argument/subject.

Usage notes

The form m- is used with stems that start with a vowel; mi- is used with those that start with a consonant, in which case the initial consonant is also palatalized. In practice, since all intransitive verbs to which this prefix can attach start with a vowel, mi- only appears on certain transitive verbs.

Inflection

Ye'kwana personal markers

pronoun noun possessor/ series II verb argument postposition object series I verb argument transitive patient intransitive patient-like intransitive agent-like transitive agent first person ewü y-, ∅-, ü-, u-1 w-, wi- first person dual inclusive küwü k-, kü-, ku-, ki- k-, kii-, ki-1 second person amödö ö-, öy-/ödh-, o-, oy-/odh-, a-, ay-/adh- m-, mi- first person dual exclusive nña y-/dh-, ch-, ∅-, i-1 chö- ∅- n-, ni- third person tüwü n-, ni- distant past third person — kün-, kun-, kin-, ken-, küm-, kum-, kim-, kini- coreferential/reflexive — t-, tü-, tu-, ti-, te- — reciprocal — — öö- With following vowel lengthened if in an unreduced open syllable. series I verb argument: transitive agent and transitive patient 1st person > 2nd person mön-, man-, mon-, möm-, möni- 1st person dual exclusive > 2nd person 2nd person > 1st person k-, kü-, ku-, ki- 2nd person > 1st person dual exclusive 3rd person > any person X …or… any person X > 3rd person see person X in the chart above

References

• Cáceres, Natalia (2011), Grammaire Fonctionnelle-Typologique du Ye’kwana‎^[6], Lyon, pages 180–181

Zulu

Etymology 1

Prefix

m-

1. Class 1 simple noun prefix; form of mu- used before stems of more than one syllable.

Etymology 2

Prefix

ḿ-

1. him, her, it; class 1 object concord; form of mu- used before stems of more than one syllable.

Etymology 3

Prefix

m-

1. Class 3 simple noun prefix; form of mu- used before stems of more than one syllable.

Etymology 4

Prefix

m-

1. Class 9 simple noun prefix; form of n- used before stems beginning with a labial consonant.

References

• C. M. Doke; B. W. Vilakazi (1972), “m-”, in Zulu-English Dictionary, →ISBN: “m-”