Description:

The particle 'xa-' is a prefix that dates back to Old Common and is probably meant to resemble and be somehow derived from 'xafe', 'frequent'. It is used as a prefix to derive words meaning 'again', 'frequently, or 'over and over'. It's base form is xa-. If affixing xa- results in an illegal series of vowels, the irregular repair strategy is to insert an 'f'.

As a prefix, xa(f)-' is always unstressed.

Old Common didn't have a standalone word meaning 'again'. As early as the late early period, speakers started using the standalone version 'xas', which has more of the connotation of 'again' and coexists with 'xafe', 'common, frequent.'