DICT.TW Dictionary Taiwan

 Ex- A prefix from the latin preposition, ex, akin to Gr. 'ex or 'ek signifying out of, out, proceeding from.  Hence, in composition, it signifies out of, as, in exhale, exclude; off, from, or out, as in exscind; beyond, as, in excess, exceed, excel; and sometimes has a privative sense of without, as in exalbuminous, exsanguinous.  In some words, it intensifies the meaning; in others, it has little affect on the signification.  It becomes ef- before f, as in effuse.  The form e- occurs instead of ex- before b, d, g, l, m, n, r, and v, as in ebullient, emanate, enormous, etc. In words from the French it often appears as es-, sometimes as s- or é-; as, escape, scape, élite.  Ex-, prefixed to names implying office, station, condition, denotes that the person formerly held the office, or is out of the office or condition now; as, ex-president, ex-governor, ex-mayor, ex-wife, ex-convict.  The Greek form 'ex becomes ex in English, as in exarch; 'ek becomes ec, as in eccentric.
 ◄ ►

 ex
      adj : out of fashion; "a suit of rather antique appearance";
            "demode (or outmoded) attire"; "outmoded ideas" [syn: antique,
             demode, old-fashioned, old-hat(p), outmoded, passe,
             passee]
      n 1: a man who was formerly a certain woman's husband [syn: ex-husband]
      2: a woman who was formerly a particular man's wife; "all his
         exes live in Texas" [syn: exwife]