synizesis

[ sin-uh-zee-sis ]

nounPhonetics.

the combination into one syllable of two vowels (or of a vowel and a diphthong) that do not form a diphthong.

Origin of synizesis

1840–50; <Late Latin <Greek synízēsis, equivalent to syn-syn- + (h)iz- (stem of hízein to sit¹) + -ēsis-esis

Also called synaeresis.

Words Nearby synizesis

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use synizesis in a sentence

The synizesis and synapsis stages are similar to those in Chelymorpha (figs. 61 and 62).
Studies in Spermatogenesis | Nettie Maria Stevens

British Dictionary definitions for synizesis

synizesis

/ (ˌsɪnɪˈziːsɪs) /

noun

phonetics the contraction of two vowels originally belonging to separate syllables into a single syllable, without diphthongization: Compare syneresis
cytology the contraction of chromatin towards one side of the nucleus during the prophase of meiosis

Origin of synizesis

C19: via Late Latin from Greek sunizēsis a collapse, from sunizanein to sink down, from syn- + hizein to sit

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

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