hyphen
[hahy-fuh n]
- a short line (-) used to connect the parts of a compound word or the parts of a word divided for any purpose.
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Origin of hyphen
1595–1605; < Late Latin < Greek hyphén (adv.) together, derivative of hyph' hén (prepositional phrase), equivalent to hyp(ó) under (see hypo-) + hén, neuter of heîs one
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for hyphen
Contemporary Examples
A hyphen is part of the common spelling: daylight-saving time.
Historical Examples
The purser said that the dragon's name was Mrs. Scrivener-Yapling, with a hyphen.
In a Steamer Chair and Other StoriesRobert Barr
But if the word "part" or the word "share" follows, the hyphen is not used; as "two third parts."
"Stops"Paul Allardyce
The hyphen is used also when the words are inverted; as "four-and-thirty," "six-and-fortieth."
"Stops"Paul Allardyce
The hyphen is used between the component parts of some compound words.
"Stops"Paul Allardyce
There is no rule to distinguish the compound words that take a hyphen from those that do not.
"Stops"Paul Allardyce
hyphen
- the punctuation mark (-), used to separate the parts of some compound words, to link the words of a phrase, and between syllables of a word split between two consecutive lines of writing or printing
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- (tr) another word for hyphenate
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Word Origin
C17: from Late Latin (meaning: the combining of two words), from Greek huphen (adv) together, from hypo- + heis one
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for hyphen
n.
1620s, from Late Latin hyphen, from Greek hyphen "mark joining two syllables or words," probably indicating how they were to be sung, noun use of an adverb meaning "together, in one," literally "under one," from hypo "under" (see sub-) + hen, neuter of heis "one."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
hyphen
A punctuation mark (-) used in some compound words, such as self-motivation, seventy-five, and mother-in-law. A hyphen is also used to divide a word at the end of a line of type. Hyphens may appear only between syllables. Thus com-pound is properly hyphenated, but compo-und is not.
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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.