clitic

American  

[klit-ik] / ˈklɪt ɪk /

adjective

1. (of a word) functioning as a bound form; closely connected in pronunciation with a preceding or following word and not having an independent accent or phonological status.

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noun

1. a clitic word; enclitic or proclitic.

clitic British  

/ ˈklɪtɪk /

adjective

1. (of a word) incapable of being stressed, usually pronounced as if part of the word that follows or precedes it: for example, in French, me, te, and le are clitic pronouns See also proclitic enclitic

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noun

1. a clitic word

Etymology

Origin of clitic

1945–50; extracted from enclitic and proclitic