compensatory lengthening

American  

noun

Historical Linguistics.

1. the lengthening of a vowel when a following consonant is weakened or lost, as the change from Old English niht to night with loss of and lengthening of to a vowel that eventually became

---

Example Sentences

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

From Anglo-Saxon Grammar and Exercise Book with Inflections, Syntax, Selections for Reading, and Glossary by Smith, C. Alphonso (Charles Alphonso)

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

From English Verse Specimens Illustrating its Principles and History by Alden, Raymond MacDonald

The sonant n appears in Brythonic as an, whereas in Goidelic the nasal disappears before k, t with compensatory lengthening of the vowel, e.g.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 5 "Cat" to "Celt" by Various