Affixes

The prefix is attached to verbs and nouns, forming new verbs, nouns, adjectives and adverbs. In some cases, a literal sense of movement upwards or to a higher position is meant, as in updraught, uphill, upland, upriver, upslope, upswing, uptown, and upwind (the wind being considered as flowing downhill like a river). In a few, a sense of inversion appears, as in upend and upturn. Many examples are figurative, as in upbringing, upgrade, upmarket, upbeat, and upstart (a person, often behaving arrogantly, who has risen suddenly to wealth or high position).