El preverbio ex-: morfología léxica, continuidad y variación del latín al español

Abstract

In this paper we analyze the preverb ex- in its passage from Latin to Spanish. Our study of the preverb throughout its journey is of particular interest for various reasons. Firstly, given its adverbial origin, in Latin it is already an important component in several verbs, many of which survive in Spanish by either learned or popular transmission. It is here that we see a first variation in the prefix with the variant e-, motivated by the disappearance of the prefixal consonant in contact with that of the verbal root. Incidentally, this phenomenon is not well described in some works of reference in Spanish. Secondly, the analysis of semantic, semic and classemic, values of the Latin preverb can give us a greater understanding of the meanings that the verbs take on in the Spanish language.

The preverb’s presence in Romance is also important in terms of lexical morphology and semantics. This is because of the variation in its function as a prefix, especially in its interchanging with other prefixes like de- and dis- by their conformation of des- and in the distribution of this one with es-, but also because nowadays ex- is still productive, far from its nature as a preverb and closer to its prepositional function in Latin (the distinction between these should be established). All of the above allows us to clarify many aspects and better understand the prefix and the words that contain it in Spanish.