prosthesis
UK[prɒsˈθiːsɪs]US[prɑːsˈθiːsɪs]
n
an artificial body part, such as a leg, a heart, or a breast, that replaces a missing part
n
the addition of a letter or syllable at the beginning of a word, as in spanish 'es-' from latin 's-' (linguistics)
Morpheme Breakdown
pro
thesis
pro
forward
thesis
placing
Etymology
the word 'prosthesis' entered english in the mid-16th century via late latin from greek 'prosthesis', which means 'addition'. this greek term is a compound of 'pro-' ('before, in addition to') and 'thesis' ('a placing'). in its original greek and early english usage, it was primarily a grammatical term for adding a letter or syllable at the beginning of a word. the anatomical sense, denoting an artificial addition to the body, developed in the early 20th century. this semantic evolution logically extends the core idea of 'adding something in front of or to' an existing structure, shifting from linguistic addition to a physical one.
Analysis
Structure: pro (forward) + thesis (placing)
pro- (prefix of greek origin, meaning 'forward, in front of, before'); thesis (from greek, meaning 'a placing, setting down')
Examples
after the accident, he was fitted with a sophisticated prosthetic leg.
the development of biocompatible materials has revolutionized modern prosthesis design.
in linguistics, prosthesis is a type of epenthesis that occurs at the start of a word.