Go to 'thermo-' entry Go to 'dino-' entry Go to 'chondro-' entry Go to 'aero-' entry Go to '-logy' entry Go to 'thaumato-' entry Go to 'nano-' entry Go to '-sophy' entry Go to 'bucco-' entry Go to '-ism' entry Go to '-lysis' entry Go to 'galacto-' entry Go to '-anthropy' entry Go to 'pneumo-' entry Go to '-ploitation' entry Go to '-lithic' entry Go to '-sepalous' entry Go to 'onco-' entry Go to '-parous' entry Go to 'dermato-' entry Go to 'multi-' entry Go to 'dodeca-' entry Go to '-zoon' entry Go to 'vermi-' entry Go to 'crystallo-' entry Go to 'biblio-' entry Go to 'eco-' entry Go to 'juxta-' entry Go to 'facio-' entry
Affixes: the building blocks of English
Affixes: the building blocks of English
  Home Introduction About the author Types of affixes Thematic indexes Search the site   A B C D E F G H I JK L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z   Previous entry Next entry Up to index of I  

infra-

Below, underneath, beneath.

[Latin infra, with the same meaning.]

Examples include infrared, that part of the spectrum lying below visible light in frequency; infrastructure, the physical and organizational substructure or foundations (such as roads, buildings, and power supplies) needed for the operation of a society; infrasound, sound which is too low in frequency to be audible by human ears; infrarenal, lying below the kidney, and infraorbital, situated below the orbit of the eye, are two examples of a group of medical terms. Infra on its own is used in documents to refer to something further on in the text; infra dig, an abbreviation of Latin infra dignitatem, beneath (one's) dignity, is an informal term for something demeaning.

Visit Michael Quinion’s World Wide Words site for 2000+ articles on English!

Copyright © Michael Quinion 2008–. All rights reserved. Page last updated 23 September 2008.
Your comments and suggestions on the site are very welcome.