bi-

See also: Appendix:Variations of "bi"

Languages (31)

Azerbaijani • Catalan • Czech • Danish • Finnish • French • Galician • German • Gothic • Ido • Indonesian • Irish • Italian • Kongo • Latin • Malay • Middle English • Navajo • Northern Kurdish • Norwegian Bokmål • Norwegian Nynorsk • Ojibwe • Old English • Old Saxon • Polish • Portuguese • Spanish • Swedish • Tooro • Turkish

Page categories

English

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /baɪ-/, (rare) /bɪ-/
Audio (US): (file)

Etymology 1

PIE word
*dwóh₁

Borrowed from Latin bi-, from Proto-Italic *dwi-, from Proto-Indo-European *dwi-. Doublet of twi- and di-.

Alternative forms

bin- (before some vowel-initial roots)
bis-

Prefix

Latin number prefix
Previous:	uni-
Next:	tri-

bi-

Two in number.
biarticular is affecting, or connecting two joints; biaxial is along two axes; bicoloured is of two colours
Having or possessing two of the root word's quality.
biangular is having two angles or corners, biantheriferous is having two anthers, bicardial is having two separate hearts, bikont is a eukaryotic cell with two flagella; thought to be the ancestor of all plants
Both: referring to two as a set.
biacetabular is relating to both acetabula, biallelic is of or pertaining to both alleles of a gene, bicaval is relating to both veins of the vena cava
Being different in two ways with respect to the root.
biadjoint is adjoint in two different ways, biaffine is affine in two different ways, biclonal is having cell markers from two different cell lines
Forked, divided by two, halved; (chemistry, proscribed) half
bifurcate is to divide or fork into two channels or branches, bicapitate is to divide something equally between two people or organisations, bicarinate is dividing into two points at the end
Double, twofold.
bialgebroid is a double algebroid, bifarious is twofold, double, biarticulated is doubly articulated
(LGBTQ) Bisexual, relating to bisexuality.
bicentric is having a bisexual bias or basis, biphobia is antipathy towards bisexuals, biromantic is romantically attracted to both males and females
(anatomy) Bilateral, on both sides of the body.
biconcave is having both sides concave, biballism is ballism that affects both sides of the body
Twice.
biannual is occurring twice a year, biannual is something occurring twice each year, biconjugate is paired twice
Every two; a rate of once every two.
biannual is occurring once every two years; biennial, bicentennial is occurring every two hundred (200) years
A pair of; composed of two.
bibrow is a pair of eyebrows which do not meet in the middle, as opposed to a unibrow, bicomplex is composed of a pair of complex numbers having certain defined properties

Usage notes

In an old, common method used to indicate the presence of an acidic hydrogen, sodium hydrogen sulfate is called "sodium bisulfate" and sodium hydrogen carbonate is called "sodium bicarbonate". This method is not recommended by IUPAC and does not denote a “doubling up” of a specific group, which is reserved for the Greek prefix di-, as in carbon dioxide (“CO₂”).

The prefix bi in the older system comes from the observation that there is two times as much carbonate (CO₃) in sodium bicarbonate (Na HCO₃) and other bicarbonates as in sodium carbonate (Na₂CO₃) and other carbonates.

As a prefix for periods, bi- is ambiguously used to mean either “once every two periods” or “twice every period”; this is particularly acute for biweekly, bimonthly, and biannual. To avoid ambiguity, semi- or twice can be used to unambiguously mean “every half period” (thus twice every period) or “twice every period”, but there is no general way to refer unambiguously to “once every two periods”. In some cases a separate word is unambiguous, as in fortnightly (“every two weeks”), or biennial (“every two years”), but there is no word that unambiguously refers to “every two months”. Due to the ambiguity, some prefer to use explicit phrases, like “every two months” or “twice a month”.

Synonyms

(multiple senses): di-, duo-

Derived terms

English terms prefixed with bi-

bicartesian closed category

terms derived from both

terms derived from different

terms derived from forked

terms derived from double

terms derived from bisexual

terms derived from bilateral

terms derived from twice

terms derived from every two

terms derived from pair

Translations

two-

Bengali: দুই (bn) (dui)
Catalan: bi- (ca)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 雙 / 双 (zh) (shuāng)
Czech: bi-
Dutch: bi- (nl), twee-, dubbel-
French: bi- (fr)
Galician: bi- (gl)
Georgian: ბი- (bi-), ორ- (or-)
German: bi- (de), zwei- (de)
Hebrew: דו־, noun (m. sg.) + בן שתי + noun (f. pl.) (e.g. בניין בן שתי קומות, "a two-story building"), noun (m. sg.) + בן שתי + noun (m. pl.) (e.g. ספר בן שני חלקים, "a two-part book"), noun (f. sg.) + בת שתי + noun (f. pl.) (e.g. קואליציה בת שתי מפלגות, "a two-party coalition"), noun (f. sg.) + בת שני + noun (m. pl.) (e.g. מערכת בת שני גופים, "a two-body system")
Hungarian: bi- (hu)
Ido: bi-
Indonesian: dwi-, bi-
Irish: dé-
Italian: bi- (it)
Japanese: 双 (ja) (そう, sō)
Malay: dwi- (ms), bi- (ms)
Manx: daa-
Polish: bi- (pl), dwu- (pl)
Portuguese: bi- (pt)
Punjabi: ਦੁ- (du-)
Russian: двух- (dvux-), дву- (dvu-), би- (ru) (bi-)
Spanish: bi- (es), bis-, biz-
Swedish: bi- (sv)
Tibetan: གཉིས་ལྡན (gnyis ldan, literally “having two”), ཟུང་ལྡན (zung ldan, literally “having a pair”), གཉིས་མ (gnyis ma, literally “both, double”), གཉིས་རེ (gnyis re, literally “every two”), ལྡབ་གཉིས (ldab gnyis, literally “twice”), ཉིས་ལྡབ (nyis ldab, literally “twice”)
Ukrainian: бі- (bi-), дво- (dvo-), двох- (dvox-)

Etymology 2

From Ancient Greek βίος (bíos, “life”).

Prefix

bi-

(before a vowel) Alternative form of bio-
biont is a living organism

Derived terms

terms derived from bio

biont

Anagrams

IB, ib.

Azerbaijani

Etymology

From Persian (bi).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [bi]

Prefix

bi-

(rarely productive) -less, un-, in-.
Synonym: -siz

Derived terms

Azerbaijani terms prefixed with bi-

Catalan

Etymology

From Latin bis.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): (Central, Balearic, Valencia) [bi]

Prefix

bi-

bi-

Derived terms

Catalan terms prefixed with bi-

Czech

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin bis.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [bɪ ]

Prefix

bi-

bi-

Related terms

Danish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈb̥i]

Etymology 1

From German bei- (“by-”).

Prefix

bi-

by-, side-
Synonym: side-

Etymology 2

From Latin bis (“twice”).

Prefix

bi-

bi-
Synonyms: di-, tve-, dobbelt-

Finnish

Etymology

Internationalism (see English bi-), ultimately from Latin bis.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈbi-/, [ˈbi-]

Prefix

bi-

bi- (double, twin)
Synonyms: see kaksois-

Derived terms

Category Finnish terms prefixed with bi- not found

French

Etymology

From Latin bis (“twice”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /bi/
Audio: (file)

Prefix

bi-

bi-

Derived terms

French terms prefixed with bi-

Galician

Etymology

From Latin bis.

Prefix

bi-

bi-
Synonyms: bi-, duo-

Derived terms

From

Galician terms prefixed with bi-

.

German

Etymology

From Latin bis (“twice”).

Pronunciation

Audio: (file)

Prefix

bi-

bi-

Derived terms

German terms prefixed with bi-

Gothic

Romanization

bi-

Romanization of 𐌱𐌹-

Ido

Prefix

bi-

bi-

Derived terms

Ido terms prefixed with bi-

Indonesian

Etymology

From Dutch bi-, from Latin bi-.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [bi]
Hyphenation: bi

Prefix

bi-

bi-: two, pair, both

Derived terms

Indonesian terms prefixed with bi-

bilateral

Irish

Prefix

bi-

Alternative form of bith-, used before a slender T.

Mutation

Mutated forms of *bi-*
radical	lenition	eclipsis
bi-	bhi-	mbi-

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Italian

Etymology

From Latin bis (“twice”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /bi/
Hyphenation: bi-

Prefix

bi-

bi-
di-

Derived terms

Italian terms prefixed with bi-

Kongo

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *bì-.

Prefix

bi- (singular ki-)

class 8 prefix
class subject concord

Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *dwi-, from Proto-Indo-European *dwi- (“two-; twice-”), prefix form corresponding to the numeral *dwóh₁ (“two”); the origin in PIE of the *i here is uncertain.^[1]

Pronunciation

(Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈbi/, [ˈbɪ]
(modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈbi/, [ˈbiː]

Prefix

bi-

having two parts
occurring twice

Derived terms

References

^ De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “bi-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 71

Malay

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /bi-/
Hyphenation: bi-

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Persian .^[1]

Prefix

bi- (Jawi spelling بی-)

-less; prefix expressing the lack of the root word.
‎bi- + ‎adab (“manners”) → ‎biadab (“impolite”)

Usage notes

While there have been efforts to popularize the use of this prefix in scientific and technological coinages, currently, its range of use is very limited, and so, it is found only in a small number of words.

Etymology 2

From English bi-.^[1]

Prefix

bi- (Jawi spelling بی-)

bi-
bienial ― biennial

Usage notes

This prefix is unproductive and is only found in loanwords borrowed from English which contain the prefix.

Derived terms

Malay terms prefixed with bi-

biadab

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Nik S. Farid M. Hashim H. & Abdul H. (2004). Tatabahasa dewan : edisi baharu. Dewama Sdn. Bhd.

Middle English

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old English be-, from Proto-West Germanic *bi-, from Proto-Germanic *bi-, from *bi-; compare by-.

The pronunciation /bi-/ (instead of expected /bə-/) is probably due to the influence of the preposition by.

Alternative forms

be-, by-
b- (in certain words)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /bi-/

Prefix

bi-

A prefix forming transitive verbs from any content word, often denoting completion or thoroughness.
A prefix forming prepositions, often denoting adjacency, position, or relation.

Derived terms

Descendants

English: be-
Scots: be-

References

“bi-, pref.(2).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
“bi-, pref.(3).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

Prefix

bi-

Alternative form of by-

Navajo

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /pɪ̀-/

Etymology 1

Cognate with Tanacross u-.

Prefix

bi-

his, her, its, their
‎amá (“one's mother”) + ‎bi- → ‎bimá (“his/her/its/their mother”)

Usage notes

This prefix often corresponds to an English possessive ’s appended to the preceding word. For example, Diné bizaad means literally “the People their-language”, equivalent to “the People’s language” (i.e., Navajo language).

Related terms

Etymology 2

Prefix

bi-

Marks a third-person singular indirect object.

Northern Kurdish

Prefix

bi-

forms the affirmative subjunctive mood of verbs.

Norwegian Bokmål

Prefix

bi-

by-, by, side
bi-

References

“bi-” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Prefix

bi-

by-, by, side
bi-

References

“bi-” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Ojibwe

Preverb

bi-

this way, here, hither (toward the speaker)
Bi-anokiin.
Come and work.

Related terms

biid-

References

The Ojibwe People's Dictionary https://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu/main-entry/bi-pv-dir

Old English

Alternative forms

biġ-, be-

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈbiː/

Etymology 1

From bī (“by, near, around”).

Prefix

bī-

near, around (compare Latin para-)
‎bi- + ‎nama → ‎bīnama (“pronoun”)

‎bi- + ‎word → ‎bīword (“proverb, byword”)

Usage notes

Occurred primarily in nouns.

Derived terms

Old English terms prefixed with bi-

bīgenga (“inhabitant; observer; benefactor”)
bīleofa (“support, sustenance, nourishment, capital”)
bīswæc (“treachery”)

Descendants

Middle English: by-, bi-
- English: by-, be-
- Scots: by-, be-

Etymology 2

Prefix

bi-

Alternative form of be-

Old Saxon

Etymology 1

An unstressed form of bī, from Proto-West Germanic *bī-.

Prefix

bi-

A productive prefix usually used to form verbs and adjectives, especially verbs with the sense “around, throughout” or makes transitive verbs from intransitive verbs, adjectives and nouns.
‎bi- + ‎brekan → ‎bibrekan (“to break”)

‎bi- + ‎brengian → ‎bibrengian (“to accomplish”)

‎bi- + ‎dēlian → ‎bidēlian (“to deprive”)

‎bi- + ‎delvan → ‎bidelvan (“to bury”)

‎bi- + ‎dempian → ‎bidempian (“to suffocate”)

‎bi- + ‎dernian → ‎bidernian (“to conceal, to hide”)

‎bi- + ‎dōdian → ‎bidōdian (“to kill”)

‎bi- + ‎driogan → ‎bidriogan (“to deceive”)

‎bi- + ‎drōragon → ‎bidrōragon (“to bleed to death”)

‎bi- + ‎dumbilian → ‎bidumbilian (“to make a fool”)

‎bi- + ‎*dwellian → ‎bidwellian (“to hinder”)

‎bi- + ‎fāhan → ‎bifāhan (“to embrace, seize”)

‎bi- + ‎fallan → ‎bifallan (“to befall”)

‎bi- + ‎felhan → ‎bifelhan (“to recommend, give over, confide”)

‎bi- + ‎fellian → ‎bifellian (“to throw down”)

‎bi- + ‎findan → ‎bifindan (“to notice, find out”)

‎bi- + ‎gangan → ‎bigān, bigangan (“to celebrate”)

‎bi- + ‎gehan → ‎bigehan (“to dare, confess”)

Derived terms

Descendants

be-

Etymology 2

From bī (“by, near, around”).

Prefix

bī-

prefix meaning near, around (compare Latin para-), occurring primarily in nouns
‎bi- + ‎word → ‎bīword (“proverb, byword”)

Derived terms

bīgengio (“inhabitant”)

Polish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁

Proto-Indo-European *dwi-

Proto-Italic *dwi-

Latin bi-der.

Polish bi-

Derived from Latin bi-.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /bi/
Audio: (file)
Rhymes: -i
Syllabification: [please specify syllabification manually]

Prefix

bi-

bi-, two
Synonyms: dwu-, di-, dy-

‎bi- + ‎-gamia → ‎bigamia

Derived terms

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin bis.

Prefix

bi-

bi- (two-)

Derived terms

Spanish

Alternative forms

bis-, biz-

Etymology

From Latin bis (“twice”).

Prefix

bi-

bi-
Synonyms: di-, duo-

Derived terms

Swedish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /bi/, [ˈb̥i]

Prefix

bi-

by-, next to, near, by the side, aside; same as English by- and German bei-; see also the rare preposition bi
bi-, two, dual; from Latin bis (“twice”)

Derived terms

References

Tooro

Alternative forms

(before vowels) by-

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *bí-.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /βi-/

Prefix

bi-

class 8 pronominal concord
‎bi- + ‎-nu (“this, these”) → ‎binu (“these (class 8)”)
they; class 8 subject concord
‎bi- + ‎-kora (“to do”) → ‎bikora (“they (class 8) do”)
positive imperative form of -bi- (“them; class 8 object concord”)
‎bi- + ‎-ha (“to give”) → ‎biha (“give them (class 8)”)

References

Kaji, Shigeki (2007) A Rutooro Vocabulary‎^[1], Tokyo: Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA), →ISBN, page 414

Turkish

Etymology

Borrowed from Persian (bi, prefix).

Prefix

bi-

(obsolete, unproductive) -less, un-, in-.
Synonym: -siz

Derived terms

Turkish terms prefixed with bi-

biçare

bihaber

bitap

[1] De Vaan, Michiel (2008) “bi-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Latin and the other Italic Languages (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 7), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 71

[n-2] 1.0 ^1.1 Nik S. Farid M. Hashim H. & Abdul H. (2004). Tatabahasa dewan : edisi baharu. Dewama Sdn. Bhd.

[1]

[1]

	singular	dual	plural
1st person	shi-	nihi-	danihi-
2nd person	ni-	nihi-	danihi-
3rd person	bi-
4th person (3o)	yi-
4th person (3a)	ha-, hw-
indefinite person (3i)	a-

class	person	independent	possessive	subject concord	object concord	combined forms
class	person	independent	possessive	subject concord	object concord	na	ni
class 1	first	nyowe, nye	-ange	n-	-n-	nanyowe, nanye	ninyowe, ninye
	second	iwe	-awe	o-	-ku-	naiwe	niiwe
	third	uwe	-e	a-	-mu-	nawe	nuwe
class 2	first	itwe	-aitu	tu-	-tu-	naitwe	niitwe
	second	inywe	-anyu	mu-	-ba-	nainywe	niinywe
	third	abo	-abo	ba-	-ba-	nabo	nubo
class 3		gwo	-agwo	gu-	-gu-	nagwo	nugwo
class 4		yo	-ayo	e-	-gi-	nayo	niyo
class 5		lyo	-alyo	li-	-li-	nalyo	niryo
class 6		go	-ago	ga-	-ga-	nago	nugo
class 7		kyo	-akyo	ki-	-ki-	nakyo	nikyo
class 8		byo	-abyo	bi-	-bi-	nabyo	nibyo
class 9		yo	-ayo	e-	-gi-	nayo	niyo
class 10		zo	-azo	zi-	-zi-	nazo	nizo
class 11		rwo	-arwo	ru-	-ru-	narwo	nurwo
class 12		ko	-ako	ka-	-ka-	nako	nuko
class 13		two	-atwo	tu-	-tu-	natwo	nutwo
class 14		bwo	-abwo	bu-	-bu-	nabwo	nubwo
class 15		kwo	-akwo	ku-	-ku-	nakwo	nukwo
class 16		ho	-aho	ha-	-ha-	naho	nuho
class 17		(kwo)	N/A	ha- (...-yo)	-ha-	N/A	nukwo
class 18		(mwo)	-amwo	ha- (...-mu)	-ha-	N/A	numwo
reflexive		-enyini, -onyini	—		-e-	—

bi-

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

Prefix

Usage notes

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

Prefix

Derived terms

Anagrams

Azerbaijani

Etymology

Pronunciation

Prefix

Derived terms

Catalan

Etymology

Pronunciation

Prefix

Derived terms

Further reading

Czech

Etymology

Pronunciation

Prefix

Related terms

Further reading

Danish

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Prefix

Etymology 2

Prefix

See also

Finnish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Prefix

Derived terms

French

Etymology

Pronunciation

Prefix

Derived terms

Galician

Etymology

Prefix

Derived terms

Further reading

German

Etymology

Pronunciation

Prefix

Derived terms

Gothic

Romanization

Ido

Prefix

Derived terms

Indonesian

Etymology

Pronunciation

Prefix

Derived terms

Further reading

Irish

Prefix

Mutation

Further reading

Italian

Etymology

Pronunciation

Prefix

Derived terms

Kongo

Etymology