prefixes - Prefix di- and bi-


I was wondering if there are differences between the cases of using di- and the cases of using bi-?


For example,



  • why carbon dioxide instead of carbon bioxide?

  • Why binoculars instead of dinoculars?

  • Why bisexual instead of disexual?

  • Why bilateral instead of dilateral?



Answer



Bi- comes from Latin, Di- from Greek. Which prefix is used would usually depend on the origin of the root of the word.


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