LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
prefix

ec-

ec-
Classical[ɛk]Ecclesiastical[ek]

Meaning

  1. morphemeprefixed to interrogatives, has intensive or indefinite force
    ec- + -ce → ecce
    ec- + quandō → ecquandō

Charlton Lewis's shorter dictionary for students: the same scholarship in plain, modern definitions.

ec- an
indef part., only in compounds.

Origins

Related to Oscan 𐌄𐌊𐌊𐌖𐌌 (ekkum) via Proto-Italic; further etymology uncertain. Possibly from Proto-Indo-European *é(y) or *h₁é + *(-)ḱe. May be apocopated or back-formed from ecce. An old hypothesis proposed *ed-ke underlying Latin ecce (in which case, all ec- may simply be *ed-) and *ed-ke-om underlying Oscan 𐌄𐌊𐌊𐌖𐌌 (ekkum), comparing the first element of Proto-Slavic *ed-ìnъ (“one”) and *ed(ъ)-và (“only”), which would point to Proto-Indo-European *(h₁)ed-, but the latter is nowadays reconstructed as *h₁edʰ- in accordance with Winter's law.

Quick answers

What does ec- mean in Latin?
ec-, a prefix, means “prefixed to interrogatives, has intensive or indefinite force”.
How do you pronounce ec-?
In classical Latin, [ɛk]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ek].