ex-, e-, ef-
(Latin: a prefix occurring in words of Latin origin used in the senses: out, out of, from; upward; completely, entirely; to remove from, deprive of; without; former [said of previous holders of office or dignity])
Before f, ex- becomes ef-; before all voiced consonants (as b, d, g, etc.) ex- becomes e-.
The deliveryman extricated his truck from the mud with the help of a farmer and his tractor.
2. To remove or to free someone or something from an undesirable situation; such as a trap or a difficult problem: Several survivors were extricated from the wreckage that resulted when two trains ran into each other.
3. Etymology: from Latin extricatum, "freed from perplexities; from ex-, "out of" + tricae, "difficulties, tricks, confusions".
Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
so you can see more of Mickey Bach's cartoons.
DeTraci Regula wrote about the origin of Grexit in the About.com site: "And it certainly has Greek roots beyond the obvious 'Gr' - the word 'exit' itself comes from the Greek exodos, meaning 'going out'."
Sorry, DeTraci, but the word "exit" does not come from "exodos". Its etymological source is from Latin, exit, "he or she goes out"; from exire, "to go out"; from ex-, "out" + ire, "to go". It also comes from Latin exitus, "a leaving, a going out"; a noun of action from exire, "to go, to leave".
Maybe the new coinage should have been Grexodos so it could have maintained its full Greek etymological connections.