Α-

Α-: in composition—(1) ‘privative,’ see ἀν-.—(2) ‘copulative,’ originally σα, contains an idea of union, as in ἅπᾶς (πᾶς), ἀολλης (ϝείλλω).—(3) ‘prothetic,’ a simple euphonic prefix, as in ἄποινα (ποινή), ἀστήρ (Eng. ‘star’).