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

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

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