enclitic

American  

[en-klit-ik] / ɛnˈklɪt ɪk /

adjective

1. (of a word) closely connected in pronunciation with the preceding word and not having an independent accent or phonological status.

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noun

1. an enclitic word, as Latin que “and” in arma virumque, “arms and the man.”

enclitic British  

/ ɪnˈklɪtɪk /

adjective

1. 1. denoting or relating to a monosyllabic word or form that is treated as a suffix of the preceding word, as Latin -que in populusque

   2. (in classical Greek) denoting or relating to a word that throws an accent back onto the preceding word

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noun

1. an enclitic word or linguistic form

Other Word Forms

• enclitically
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of enclitic

1650–60; < Late Latin encliticus < Greek enklitikós, equivalent to en- en- ² + klít ( os ) slope + -ikos -ic

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

enclitic

Browning’s intimate knowledge of Greek was shown by the phrase “gave us the doctrine of the enclitic De.”

From Browning and the Dramatic Monologue by S. S. (Samuel Silas) Curry

Just one dream he had—a nightmare in which he read a printed copy of his work, and a wrongly accented enclitic stuck out from one of the pages like a sore thumb.

From In a Little Town by Rupert Hughes

In a clever article you speak of 'the doctrine of the enclitic De—which, with all deference to Mr. Browning, in point of fact, does not exist.'

From Dramatic Romances by Robert Browning

But if the syllable still remains short after the enclitic has been added, it is not accented unless the word originally took the accent on the antepenult.

From New Latin Grammar by Charles E. (Charles Edwin) Bennett

From earliest times some words have become parasitic or enclitic upon other words.

From The Project Gutenberg Encyclopedia Volume 1 of 28 by Project Gutenberg

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