af-prefix

Etymology: < classical Latin af-, assimilated form of Latin ad- ad- prefix before f , as in affectus affect n., afflātus afflatus n., affluentia affluence n. The usual reflex in Old French was a- , which is reflected in the earlier Middle English borrowings. Under classicizing influence, the spelling af- was generally restored in Middle French, and likewise ultimately in English. Compare the spelling history of e.g. affair n., affiance n., affront v.The same respelling was apparently applied analogously to a number of words which do not in fact etymologically show Latin af- at all; compare e.g. affray n., affray v., affright v., afford v.