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syncopate

[sing-kuh-peyt, sin-]
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verb (used with object), syn·co·pat·ed, syn·co·pat·ing.
  1. Music.
    1. to place (the accents) on beats that are normally unaccented.
    2. to treat (a passage, piece, etc.) in this way.
  2. Grammar. to contract (a word) by omitting one or more sounds from the middle, as in reducing Gloucester to Gloster.
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Origin of syncopate

First recorded in 1595–1605, syncopate is from the Medieval Latin word syncopātus (past participle of syncopāre to shorten by syncope). See syncope, -ate1
Related formssyn·co·pa·tor, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

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Historical Examples

British Dictionary definitions for syncopate

syncopate

verb (tr)
  1. music to modify or treat (a beat, rhythm, note, etc) by syncopation
  2. to shorten (a word) by omitting sounds or letters from the middle
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Derived Formssyncopator, noun

Word Origin

C17: from Medieval Latin syncopāre to omit a letter or syllable, from Late Latin syncopa syncope
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 syncopate

v.

c.1600, from Late Latin syncopatus, past participle of syncopare "to shorten," also "to faint away, to swoon," from Late Latin syncope (see syncope). Originally "to shorten words by omitting syllables or letters in the middle;" musical sense is from 1660s. Related: Syncopated; syncopating.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper