aphesis

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈæfɪsɪs/US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(af′ə sis)


WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
aph•e•sis  (af′ə sis),USA pronunciation n. [Historical Ling.]
  1. Linguisticsthe disappearance or loss of an unstressed initial vowel or syllable, as in the formation of the word slant from aslant.
  • Greek áphesis a letting go, equivalent. to aphe- (variant stem of aphiénai to let go, set free; ap- ap-2 + hiénai to send) + -sis -sis
  • 1880

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
aphesis / ˈæfɪsɪs/
  1. the gradual disappearance of an unstressed vowel at the beginning of a word, as in squire from esquire
Etymology: 19th Century: from Greek, from aphienai to set free, send awayaphetic / əˈfɛtɪk/
'aphesis' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
'nuff - aphetic - baccy - check - checker - cuda - cyclopedia - federacy - jammies - sis - skeeter - stravage - tater - tec - tinsel - tondo - vent - vie

Forum discussions with the word(s) "aphesis" in the title:


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