It is very common in Indo-European languages to derive new, compound verb formsfrom verb bases by adding prefixes to them. These prefixes, or preverbs, are originally derivedfrom invariant forms and generally come from one of three categories: adverbs, adpositions(prepositions or postpositions) and inseparable particles. The use of preverbs in Gothic isextensive; over half of the verbs in Gothic show prefixation. Of the many stems that havepreverbs attached, some alter the meaning of the original verb and some do not appear to changethe meaning significantly. The purpose of this study is to examine the use of preverbs in Gothic,specifically with regard to the meaning-changing function. The specific focus is on significantmeaning changes or idiomatization, in which the resultant form does not mean simply the sum ofits parts but takes on a new meaning that may or may not be clearly related to the meanings ofthe original forms.