aphesis

American  

[af-uh-sis] / ˈæf ə sɪs /

noun

Historical Linguistics.

1. the disappearance or loss of an unstressed initial vowel or syllable, as in the formation of the word slant from aslant.

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aphesis British  

/ əˈfɛtɪk, ˈæfɪsɪs /

noun

1. the gradual disappearance of an unstressed vowel at the beginning of a word, as in squire from esquire

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Other Word Forms

• aphetic adjective
• aphetically adverb

Etymology

Origin of aphesis

1880; < 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

Example Sentences

When the saint's name begins with a consonant, we get, instead of aphesis, a telescoped pronunciation, e.g.

From The Romance of Names by Weekley, Ernest

Many names beginning with n are due to aphesis, e.g.

From The Romance of Names by Weekley, Ernest

Maheut, while 'Tilda is perhaps due to unconscious aphesis, like Denry— "She saved a certain amount of time every day by addressing her son as Denry, instead of Edward Henry."

From The Romance of Words (4th ed.) by Weekley, Ernest

This English tendency to aphesis is satirised in a French song of the 14th century, intentionally written in bad French.

From The Romance of Words (4th ed.) by Weekley, Ernest