pre-, prae-

A movie, story, or novel set at a time preceding the action of an existing work: The next film will be a prequel to the last one which had achieved commercial success.

1. An obligation to do something beforehand, especially as a necessary condition before something else can take place: Usually citizenship is a prerequisite before a person can vote in elections.
2. An action or condition in which one thing must be done in order for something else to happen: The university specified that the introductory course was a prerequisite for taking the advanced level course in the subject that Jill wanted to major in.

The bank tells its customers that maintaining a good credit rating is a prerequisite for applying for a loan.

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1. A right reserved exclusively by a particular person or group occupying a particular rank or position, especially a hereditary or official right: As president of the company, Mr. Smith felt that he had the prerogative of choosing the person who would replace him when he retired.
2. A privilege or right that allows a particular person or group to give orders or to make decisions and judgments: Well, if Tom would rather sell his football tickets instead of using them, that's his prerogative.
3. The right conferred by a natural advantage that places someone in a position of superiority: Getting a seat on a full bus is one of the prerogatives of being a senior citizen.
4. The power or right of a monarch or government to do something or to be exempt from something: Parking in normally restrictive areas in the city is a prerogative of Mayor Dawson's chauffeur.
5. Etymology: from Old French prerogative, Medieval Latin (about 700-1500) prerogativa, "special right"; from Latin prærogativa, "prerogative, previous choice or election"; originally (with tribus, centuria), "unit of 100 voters who by lot voted first in the Roman comita"; feminine of prærogativus, "chosen to vote first"; from prærogere, "to ask before others"; from præ-, "before" + rogare, "to ask". © ALL rights are reserved.

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1. A sign or warning of some future occurrence: When Sam saw the black clouds appearing in the sky, he thought that they were a presage of an impending catastrophe.
2. A feeling that a particular thing, often something unpleasant, is about to happen; ill-omen: Ted wasn't sure, but he had a strong presage that he wasn't going to live much longer!

1. To indicate a warning about what is to come, normally regarding bad things: The appearance of the Corona Virus presaged many illnesses and deaths throughout the world.
2. To predict or to foretell: There were certain events in Lynn's past that presaged her in becoming a teacher.

Sleeplessness that occurs as a result of old age: Mary's grandmother was getting quite old and noticed that she was suffering from presbyasomnia and couldn't get much rest at night.

Rarely used term for gerontology; medical treatment of the aged: Joan's sister was quite interested in the whole range of family medications and remedies and specifically in presbyatrics for older people up in their years.

Impaired cardiac function attributed to the aging process: Presbycardia occurs together with recognizable changes of senescence in the body and without evidence of other forms of heart illnesses and presbycardia rarely causes heart failure itself.

Dullness of hearing, which is a characteristic of old age, including the loss of the ability to perceive or to discriminate sounds: Mr. Smart's presbycusis occurred progressively as he got older.

Symptoms of presbycusis are gradual hearing loss and tinnitus.

The normal process of growing older produces changes in the cochlea and the cochlear nerves and, in other words, damage in the inner ear, and results in permanent sensorineural hearing loss.

Presbycusis most often occurs in both ears and, because the loss of hearing is so gradual, people with presbycusis may not realize that their hearing is diminishing.

Presbycusis is common, affecting a third of the people between 65 and 75 years and up to a half of the people 75 and over.

The only treatment for presbycusis is the wearing of hearing aids which can be worn in the ears or behind the ears.

Other visual communicative techniques, such as lipreading or watching facial expressions, are also helpful in coping with hearing loss.

Skin alteration associated with middle and old age: Grace noticed that her grandmother's hands and face looked quite dry and had spots on them and guessed that she was affected by presbyderma, especially since she was already 80 years old!

1. A condition characterized by changes in the motor function of the alimentary canal as a result of degenerative alterations occurring with advancing age: The elderly Mrs. Park had to eat slowly because she suffered from presbyesophagus and had to chew her food carefully and thoroughly.
2. A disorder in the elderly characterized by altered spontaneous movement of the alimentary tract: Mr. Hathaway, affected with presbyesophagus, had to eat very slowly because swallowing his food was very difficult for him.

Impairment of memory that is characteristic of old age: Since Albert was already 99 years old, it was no wonder that he was afflicted with presbymnemia and couldn't remember certain dates and places where he had been when he was younger.

Silliness or foolish behaviour sometimes occurring in the elderly: It happened once in a while that old Mr. Evens displayed presbymoria in that he had a total lack of good sense or precaution and his manner was quite impulsive, scatterbrained, and full of folly.

A disability of mental faculties that are typical of old age: Presbyophrenia exhibits a confusional disorientation, mistakes in identity, confabulation, and fretting without achieving any purpose or aim.

Presbyophrenic informal conversation normally shows poorness, dullness, immaturity, and simpleness of content. Because ethical conduct is maintained for a comparatively long time, the patient is capable of blending into small social groups, especially because his or her feelings or emotions tend towards happiness and good-naturedness.

A form of farsightedness occurring after middle age: Jane's mother was older than 45 and had presbyopia which was caused by a diminished elasticity of the crystalline lens in her eyes.

The reasons for this loss of the power of accommodation are not yet fully known. It is conventionally said to be a result of the lenses of the eyes becoming less elastic with time.

Presbyopia is associated with aging, however it happens with everyone. The first sign is often the necessity to hold reading material farther away in order to be able to focus on the contents.

The term presbyopia is said to come from the Greek for "elderly vision".