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pre·mu·ni·tion

(prē′my-nĭshən)

Relative immunity to severe infection by a particular pathogen as a result of a chronic low-grade infection by the same pathogen.

[French prémunition, from Latin praemūnītiō, praemūnītiōn-, fortification beforehand, from praemūnītus, past participle of praemūnīre, to fortify in advance : prae-, pre- + mūnīre, to fortify; see MUNITION.]

pre·mune (prē-myn) adj.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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