emasculate

[ddubois]

e·mas·cu·late
tr.v. e·mas·cu·lat·ed, e·mas·cu·lat·ing, e·mas·cu·lates
1. To castrate.
2. To deprive of strength or vigor; weaken.

Why isn't this word "demasculate"? Isn't the e- prefix related to the en- prefix, which usually means to make moreso?

[miajag81]

"eviscerate" means to remove the viscera from, so i guess not.

boo

[rusellmj]

I thought this was gonna be about how your GF asked you to hold her purse.

[jba]

e is for ex

as in used to be a man

[ddubois]

Well, en- and em- (not e- as I originally posted, my bad) usually make adjectives into verbs. I don't think ex- has that attribute.

[jba]

[ QUOTE ]
Well, en- and em- (not e- as I originally posted, my bad) usually make adjectives into verbs. I don't think ex- has that attribute.

[/ QUOTE ]

emancipate, emerge, emigrate, emit

these are all derived from ex- (out), not en- (in)

English is full of exceptions. That's the only explanation I can provide.