compensatory lengthening

noun

, Historical Linguistics.

1. the lengthening of a vowel when a following consonant is weakened or lost, as the change from Old English niht [ni, kh, t] to night [nahyt], with loss of [kh] and lengthening of [i] to a vowel that eventually became [ahy].

Example Sentences

This was lost before -an of the infinitive, contraction and compensatory lengthening being the result.

From Project Gutenberg

So in many cases there is a choice between compensatory lengthening and compensatory pause.

From Project Gutenberg