metathesis

[muh-tath-uh-sis]

noun, plural me·tath·e·ses

[muh-tath-uh-seez] /məˈtæθ əˌsiz/.

the transposition of letters, syllables, or sounds in a word, as in the pronunciation [kuhmf-ter-buh l] /ˈkʌmf tər bəl/ for comfortable or [aks] /æks/ for ask.
Chemistry. double decomposition.

Origin of metathesis

1600–10; < Late Latin: transposition of letters of a word < Greek metáthesis transposition. See meta-, thesis

Related formsmet·a·thet·ic

[met-uh-thet-ik] /ˌmɛt əˈθɛt ɪk/, met·a·thet·i·cal, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for metathesis

Historical Examples of metathesis

The metathesis may be due to association with the name Tankard (Tancred).
The Romance of Words (4th ed.)
Ernest Weekley
Three of the most important of these are assimilation, dissimilation, and metathesis.
The Romance of Words (4th ed.)
Ernest Weekley
Its oldest form, anelas, is a metathesis of the common Old Fr.
The Romance of Words (4th ed.)
Ernest Weekley
Metathesis of r is seen in unwerste 134; rr is simplified in for 328.
Selections from Early Middle English 1130-1250: Part II: Notes
Various
M (mutare, metathesis) means 'transpose the premises' (as of Camestres).
Logic
Carveth Read

British Dictionary definitions for metathesis

metathesis

noun plural -ses (-ˌsiːz)

the transposition of two sounds or letters in a word
chem another name for double decomposition

Derived Formsmetathetic (ˌmɛtəˈθɛtɪk) or metathetical, adjective

Word Origin for metathesis

C16: from Late Latin, from Greek, from metatithenai to transpose

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 metathesis

1570s, "transposition of letters in a word;" c.1600, "rhetorical transposition of words," from Late Latin metathesis, from Greek metathesis "change of position, transposition, change of opinion," from stem of metatithenai "to transpose," from meta- "to change" (see meta-) + tithenai "to place, set," from PIE root *dhe- "to put, to do" (see factitious). Plural is metatheses. Related: Metathetic.

metathesis in Medicine

metathesis

[mĭ-tăth′ĭ-sĭs]

n. pl. me•tath•e•ses (-sēz′)

Double decomposition of chemical compounds in which an element or radical of one compound exchanges places with another element or radical in another compound.