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definitions

hyphen

[hahy-fuh n]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hyphen ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a short line (-) used to connect the parts of a compound word or the parts of a word divided for any purpose.

verb (used with object)

hyphenate.

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
Related formshy·phen·ic [hahy-fen-ik] /haɪˈfɛn ɪk/, adjectivede·hy·phen, verb (used with object)un·hy·phened, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for hyphen

elbow, seam, bridge, splice, point, nexus, impingement, bend, union, concourse, interconnection, tie, meeting, node, swivel, junction, articulation, crux, link, knot

Examples from the Web for hyphen

Contemporary Examples of hyphen

Historical Examples of hyphen

  • The purser said that the dragon's name was Mrs. Scrivener-Yapling, with a hyphen.

  • 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

  • In these words the pronunciation is more clearly marked by inserting the hyphen.

    "Stops"

    Paul Allardyce

British Dictionary definitions for hyphen

hyphen

noun

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

verb

(tr) another word for hyphenate

Word Origin for hyphen

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
hyphen in Culture

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.

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.