eu-comb. form

Etymology: < (i) classical Latin eu- (in e.g. eurythmĭa eurhythmy n.) and its etymon (ii) ancient Greek εὐ-, combining form (in e.g. εὐρυθμία), implying abundance, prosperity or ease, of εὖ well, use as adverb of neuter of ἐύς good, brave, noble, of uncertain origin; perhaps < the same Indo-European base as Sanskrit su well, or perhaps < the same Indo-European base as Sanskrit vasu, Avestan vohu good.Compare French eu-, év-. N.E.D. (1891) also notes: ‘In Greek the words with this as first element are primarily adjectives (often used as nouns, and in many instances giving rise to derivative nouns or verbs). Of these many are parasynthetic from nouns, as εὔστομος having a good mouth, < στόμα mouth, εὐσχήμων having a good form, < σχῆμα form. In others the second element is a verbal stem or a verbal adjective in -τος; the sense of the compound varies (often in the same word) between active and passive; in those that are active the prefix has the force of ‘well’; in those of passive signification its sense is sometimes ‘well’, more commonly ‘easily’: thus, εὐλαβής ‘taking good hold’, ‘easy to take hold of’, < λαβ- ‘to take’; εὔπρακτος ‘doing well, prosperous’, ‘easy to do’, < πρακ- (πράσσειν) to do; εὐποίητος well made, < ποιεῖν to make.’ ‘In post-classical Latin the u in this prefix when occurring before vowels was consonantized (i.e. became v), and in order to preserve the traditional quantity of the syllable the ē was made long, as in ēvangelium. The derivatives and cognates of evangelium are almost the only words current in English with the ev- form of the prefix; in French it is much more common, being used even in recent formations from Greek elements.’