Aphesis

//ˈæ.fə.sɪs// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The loss of the initial unstressed vowel of a word. countable, uncountable

    "The word "scarp" is derived from "escarp" by aphesis."

  2. 2
    the gradual disappearance of an initial (usually unstressed) vowel or syllable as in ‘squire’ for ‘esquire’ wordnet

Example

More examples

"The word "scarp" is derived from "escarp" by aphesis."

Etymology

Attested since 1880. Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek ἄφεσις (áphesis, “letting go”), from ἀφίημι (aphíēmi), from ἀπό (apó, “off”) + ἵημι (híēmi, “send forth”).

More for "aphesis"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.