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abound (v.)
early 14c., from Old French abonder "to abound, be abundant, come together in great numbers" (12c.), from Latin abundare "overflow, run over," from Latin ab- "off" (see ab-) + undare "rise in a wave," from unda "water, wave" (see water (n.1)).

What is the meaning of "off", while during a "rise in a wave" ? Is there some hypotaxis?

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    Ever tried to walk fast carrying a full cup of coffee? The coffee rises in waves set off by the motion and sloshes over from the top of the cup, if you're not careful. BTW, hypotaxis is a literary term, not a linguistic one. You've got to stop trying to learn grammar from a dictionary. Greek terms were coined for Greek by ancient Greek grammarians, who had extremely odd notions about language (where 'language' = 'Homeric Greek'; other people spoke barbaric languages, not real ones), and are rarely useful. But they do impress people, for sure.
    – jlawler
    Commented May 22, 2015 at 15:20
  • @jlawler Thanks. So the PREfix truly represents an event that occurs AFTER the root; this (unexpected) syntagma confused me. A friend broached the term 'hypotaxis' to me; so I'll tell him. I never desire to impress people, but to impress truth upon myself.
    – user5306
    Commented May 22, 2015 at 18:44
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    Prefix goes at the beginning of the word. That's all it means. Has nothing to do with event timing.
    – jlawler
    Commented May 22, 2015 at 19:35
  • Have we mentioned metaphor? You seem to be treating metaphoric uses as if they were literal; there's a BIG difference. And most meanings are ultimately metaphoric, if you go back far enough.
    – jlawler
    Commented May 22, 2015 at 19:55
  • If you're asking about a Latin word, then please base the question on a Latin definition.
    – curiousdannii ♦
    Commented May 23, 2015 at 12:09

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