What Prefix Means “During”? (In-Between Pre and Post)

The prefixes “pre” and “post” mean “before” and “after.” However, not many people are aware of the prefix to indicate “during.” This article explains what the correct prefix is and shows how it is used in examples sentences.

What Prefix Means “During”?

The prefix “peri” comes from Greek and means “around”, “about”, “near”, or “encircling.”  Although other prefixes are sometimes used, “peri” is often used as a prefix to mean “during” or “in the middle of”, especially in medical English.

As mentioned, the word “peri” has several different meanings, but the Collins Dictionary indicates it is used to say something is “near” or “inside” something else, which can often be a time frame.

When referring to spaces and distances, you may see other words like “intra” used instead of “peri” that reflect the spatial positions better than the word “peri”, which is used primarily for time rather than space.

Here are some examples of the word “peri” in a sentence:

1. Everyone has easy access to all the information they could ever need in a peri-internet world.
2. In peri-menopause, it is common for women to gain weight.
3. The booklet guides peri and post-operation care.
4. Perioperative deaths have reduced drastically over the last 50 years.
5. Teenagers in the peri-pubescent period have difficulty controlling their emotions.

Peri

The prefix “peri” is a Greek word which means “near”, “around”, or “about.” As well as being used to indicate that something is “close” to happening, it is also used to mean “during” or “in the middle of” a process.

More often than not, it refers to events and time periods rather than spatial positioning.

Here are some examples of “peri” being used as a prefix:

1. Perimortem patients often have a final request before they die.
2. Peri-operation care rules specify that patients should be checked every two hours.
3. Crime has risen in peri-urban areas and is now as high as in most cities.
4. Most of the peri-marital women who were questioned said they were satisfied with their lives.
5. Peri-WW2, most people had to abide by strict rationing.

Intra

The Macmillan Dictionary states that the prefix “intra” means “within” or “into” something. An excellent example of a word which shows the meaning of “intra” is “intranet”, which is a network of computers “within” one company.

The word is often confused with “inter”, which means “between” rather than within, hence the term “internet”, which contains connections “between” people rather than connections “within” a particular place or company.

With many prefixes, it is common to add a hyphen between the prefix and noun. However, with “intra”, it is more common to use it without a hyphen.

Here are some examples of the prefix “inter” used in sentences:

1. Intracranial operations are amongst the most dangerous because of the sensitivity of the brain.
2. Intranasal blockages and a loss of taste are common in COVID patients.
3. His condition improved quickly following intravenous treatment.
4. The intrastate roads were way behind the standard of the inter-state roads.
5. The intracampus theatre production will be on the 15^th of October.

Mid

The Cambridge Dictionary states that the prefix “mid” is used to represent that something is “in the middle”  or “within” something else, whether it be a time frame or place. A slightly longer and more formal version of the same word is “in the midst of”, which has the same meaning as “mid.”

Here are some examples of how to use “mid” in a sentence:

1. In the mid-twentieth century, more people started owning TVs than in the early part of the century.
2. He just got up and left mid-game because his team were losing.
3. When people reach their mid-thirties, they are more likely to settle down.
4. The man I saw running away was in his mid-forties and had long dark hair.
5. The mid-1960s was the height of the Cold War.

Which Prefix Is Used the Most?

The Google Ngram for “peri”, “mid”, and “intra” shows that “mid” has always been way more frequent than “peri” and “intra.” The word “peri” is the least used of the three, and the occasions when it is used are more often than not referring to medicine.

The word “intra” appears slightly more commonly than “peri” but is still not anywhere near “mid” in terms of popularity.

How Common Is “Peri” Compared to “Pre” and “Post”?

The Google Ngram for “pre”, “peri”, and “post” shows that whilst “pre” and “post” are both relatively common, the word “peri” lags far behind in terms of usage.

As mentioned, most uses of the word “peri” are related to medicine; therefore, when discussing other processes that are in the middle of taking place, it is more common to use “mid” or to use a different word altogether, such as “during.”

Final Thoughts

The Greek word “peri” is used in English to mean “during” or “close to” a particular process or time. There are other prefixes such as “mid” and “intra, which are more common and represent the same or similar concepts to “peri”, which is mainly reserved for medical contexts.