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aphetic

[uh-fet-ik]
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adjective
  1. pertaining to or due to aphesis.
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Origin of aphetic

1875–80; < Greek áphet(os) freed, discharged (aphe- (see aphesis) + -tos past participle suffix) + -ic
Related formsa·phet·i·cal·ly, adverbnon·a·phet·ic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for aphetic

Historical Examples

  • The tender of a ship or of a locomotive is the attender, and taint is aphetic for attaint, Fr.

    The Romance of Words (4th ed.)

    Ernest Weekley

  • For limner we find in the 15th century lumner and luminour, which is aphetic for alluminour, or enlumineur.

  • The name Turney, well known in Nottingham, is from the town of Tournay, or is aphetic for attorney.

Word Origin and History for aphetic

adj.

1880, from aphesis (1880), coined by OED editor Sir James A.H. Murray (1837-1915) for "gradual and unintentional loss of a short unaccented vowel at the beginning of a word" (as squire from esquire), from Greek aphienai "to let go, to send forth," from apo- "from" (see apo-) + hienai "to send" (see jet (v.)).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper