dia-

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a prefix occurring in loanwords from Greek (diabetes; dialect) and used, in the formation of compound words, to mean “passing through” (diathermy), “thoroughly,” “completely” (diagnosis), “going apart” (dialysis), and “opposed in moment” (diamagnetism).

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Also especially before a vowel, di-.

Origin of dia-

<Greek, combining form representing diá (preposition) through, between, across, by, of, akin to dýotwo and di-di-¹

Other definitions for dia- (2 of 2)

dia.

abbreviation

diameter.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use dia- in a sentence

But the DIA assessment is based on two important assumptions.
Snowden Keeps Outwitting U.S. Spies|Eli Lake|February 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The DIA assessment, this source said, focused largely on the damage done to the military.
Did an Angry Birds Leak Risk Spies’ Lives?|Eli Lake|January 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As Virginia Postrel has written, in fiscal 2012, the DIA drew just 498,000 visits, or “barely 1,000 more than it drew in 1928.”
Time to Sell the Family Jewels, Detroit|Nick Gillespie|December 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
“The DIA was always more forward leaning on this,” one U.S. official said.
Exclusive: How North Korea Tipped Its Hand|Eli Lake|April 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST

From the elementary form de, di, or da, one traces ramifications such as the Celtic dia or duw meaning a god.
Archaic England|Harold Bayley
A pesar de la caida de Valencia, parece claro al mundo, que las cosas del enemigo estan andando de pejor a pejor cada dia.
Wanderings in South America|Charles Waterton
Diabolus dicitur a dia, quod est duo, et bolos morsus; quasi dupliciter mordens; quia ldit hominem in corpore et anima.
Notes and Queries, Number 71, March 8, 1851|Various
(meaning your substance): which is an exact translation of the equally common Irish wish Go medaighe Dia dhuit.
English As We Speak It in Ireland|P. W. Joyce
The established derivation of Aphrodite dia ten tou athrou genesin may be accepted on the authority of Hesiod.
Cratylus|Plato

British Dictionary definitions for dia-

dia-

di-

prefix

through, throughout, or duringdiachronic

acrossdiactinic

apartdiacritic

(in botany) at right anglesdiatropism

in opposite or different directionsdiamagnetism

Word Origin for dia-

from Greek dia through, between, across, by

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for dia-

dia-

pref.

Through:diapedesis.

Across:diameter.

Scientific definitions for dia-

dia-

A prefix meaning through or across, as in diameter, the length of a line going through a circle.