synaloepha

[ sin-l-ee-fuh ]

noun

1. the blending of two successive vowels into one, especially the coalescence of a vowel at the end of one word with a vowel at the beginning of the next.

Word History and Origins

Origin of synaloepha¹

1530–40; < New Latin < Greek synaloiphḗ, synaliphḗ, equivalent to syn- syn- + aloiph-, aliph- (variant stems of aleíphein to smear) + -ē feminine noun suffix