Vocabulary Basics for Business [Electronic resources]

Barbara G. Cox

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Prefixes Related to Size

Some prefixes help define the size of something. Many of the words you worked with in Lesson 8 have prefixes. The prefixes micro- and mini- mean "small"; macro-, magni-, maxi-, and mega- all mean "large."

To users of our customer service department microcomputers: To maximize your efficiency and minimize errors, please attend a seminar on using the macro commands that the information technology department has just programmed for us.

He used a microscope to magnify the tissue so the germs could be identified.

The italicized terms in these statements have prefixes that mean "small" or "large."

Read the following examples and see if you know the meanings of the italicized prefixes.

micro- and mini-

microcomputer a small computer that uses a microchip or integrated circuit; includes PCs, Macs, and other types

microscope optical instrument for magnifying small objects

minimize reduce to the smallest size or quantity

macro-, magni-, maxi-, and mega-

macro command a long computer command made into abbreviated form; commonly referred to as a "macro"

magnify cause to appear larger

maximize enlarge to the greatest size or quantity

megabyte a million bytes (units of computer disk storage)

Other examples of words with these prefixes are microcosm ("a small universe"), microphone, microfilm, minimum, magnitude, magnificent, and maximum. (Megalo- is another prefix that means "large," as in megalomania.)

Mega has now entered our language as a common prefix to add before many terms to mean "very many," as in megabucks. In many cases, this usage is still colloquial, that is, casual or slang.