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DictionaryRoot: com-
Latin

com-

with, together; sometimes thoroughly

Forms

  • com-
  • con- — Used before many consonants in Latin.
  • col- — Used before l in Latin.
  • cor- — Used before r in Latin.
  • co- — Shortened especially before vowels.

Origin

Reconstructed Proto-Indo-European *kom, ‘with; beside.’

Note

In some formations, togetherness shades into completeness; the prefix’s exact contribution can be uncertain.

296 / 301
An older woman seated beside her removed shoe gently rubs a mildly reddened heel, showing a restrained wince rather than severe pain.
noun / verb

discomfort

dis-KUM-fert/dɪsˈkʌmfərt/

Physical or mental unease.

Etymology
disOld Frenchaway, apart; undoing or absence
+comLatinwith, together; sometimes thoroughly
+fortLatinstrong or brave

The core is “strong,” with com- perhaps adding emphasis; dis- reverses that strengthening. The word moved from loss of courage or distress to the milder sense of physical or emotional unease.

Full entry

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