Prefixation, spatiality, and systematic polysemy

the case of the linguistic unit entre-

Abstract

This article investigates the behavior of the prefix entre- in contemporary Portuguese from a morphological, semantic-cognitive, and discursive-pragmatic perspective, grounded in Constructional Morphology. The analysis is based on empirical data extracted from the journalistic corpus NOW – News on the Web, from which a set of lexically transparent formations was selected in order to clearly observe the relationship between form, meaning, and use. The study assumes that the prefix entre- displays a unifying general meaning, formalized as the schema “X between Y and Z”, which is motivated by spatial domains and image schemas of intermediation. The analysis shows that, from this common base, a systematic polysemy emerges, organized into three main readings: (i) spatiality or intermediate position between two elements; (ii) reciprocity or mutual action between participants; and (iii) a state of transition, indefiniteness, and partiality. It is argued that these meanings are not randomly distributed, but rather strongly correlated with the morphological configuration of the constructions, particularly with the type of base selected. The findings support the analysis of entre- as an autonomous prefix in contemporary Portuguese, distinct from inter-, and highlight its relevance to the interface between morphology, semantics, and discourse.