apostrophe

¹ American  

[uh-pos-truh-fee] / əˈpɒs trə fi /

noun

1. the sign ('), as used: to indicate the omission of one or more letters in a word, whether unpronounced, as in o'er for over, or pronounced, as in gov't for government; to indicate the possessive case, as in man's; or to indicate plurals of abbreviations and symbols, as in several M.D.'s, 3's.

---

apostrophe ² American  

[uh-pos-truh-fee] / əˈpɒs trə fi /

noun

Rhetoric.

1. a digression in the form of an address to someone not present, or to a personified object or idea, as “O Death, where is thy sting?”

---

apostrophe ¹ British  

/ əˈpɒstrəfɪ, ˌæpəˈstrɒfɪk /

noun

1. rhetoric a digression from a discourse, esp an address to an imaginary or absent person or a personification

---

apostrophe ² British  

/ əˈpɒstrəfɪ /

noun

1. the punctuation mark ' used to indicate the omission of a letter or number, such as he's for he has or he is, also used in English to form the possessive, as in John's father and twenty pounds' worth

---

apostrophe Cultural  

1. A mark (') used with a noun or pronoun to indicate possession (“the student's comment,” “the people's choice”) or in a contraction to show where letters have been left out (isn't, don't, we'll).

---

Other Word Forms

• apostrophic adjective

Etymology

Origin of apostrophe¹

1580–90; < Middle French (with pronunciation later altered by confusion with apostrophe ² ), replacing earlier apostrophus < Late Latin (> Middle French ) < Greek apóstrophos ( prosōidía ) eliding (mark), literally, (mark) of turning away, verbid of apostréphein to turn away, equivalent to apo- apo- + stréphein to turn; strophe

Origin of apostrophe¹

1525–35; < Late Latin < Greek apostrophḗ a turning away, equivalent to apostroph- (verbid of apostréphein; apostrophe ¹ ) + -ē noun suffix

Example Sentences

“As their governess, the only ability of theirs that concerns me is their ability to make accurate use of the apostrophe,” she retorted.

From Literature

He recently added an apostrophe to his first name, now stylized as “Tre’.”

From Los Angeles Times

No Apostrophes: North Yorkshire moved to phase out apostrophes from its street signs.

From New York Times

The change, part of the North Yorkshire Council’s move to phase out apostrophes from its street signs, has elicited dissent in Harrogate, a Victorian spa town in northern England.

From New York Times

North Yorkshire Council said it "along with many others across the country" had opted to "eliminate" the apostrophe from street signs.

From BBC

Related Words

• detour
• footnote