bel-

From Middle English bel (“fair, excellent"; in compounds "great-, grand-”), from Anglo-Norman bel, Old French bel (“beautiful, noble, honorable”).

bel-

1. (obsolete, no longer productive) A prefix equivalent to grand-

   belchild (“grandchild”)

   beldame (“grandmother”)

   belsire (“grandfather”)

Back-formation from belső (“interior”). Created during the Hungarian language reform, which took place in the 18th–19th centuries.^[1]

• IPA^(key): [ˈbɛl]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: bel

bel-

1. (noun prefix) interior, internal, domestic

   Antonym: kül-

   ‎bel- + ‎város (“city”) → ‎belváros (“city centre”)

• bel- in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2024).

bel-

1. Alternative form of ber-