Main Entry: de·fraud
Pronunciation: di-'frod, dE-
Function: transitive verb
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French defrauder, from Latin defraudare, from de- + fraudare to cheat, from fraud-, fraus fraud
: to deprive of something by deception or fraud
synonym see CHEAT
and yet defines the prefix de- as meaning the opposite of the word that follows. Why doesn't defraud mean "to NOT cheat"? Is the prefix de- used to mean "to" rather than "opposite of"?
Can anyone help clear up how this prefix came to mean two things? Am I just misinterpreting de- as a prefix?
Thanks,
JF
Submitted by Jeff Freeman (Orlando, FL - U.S.A.)