Cheshirization
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Synonym of transphonologization (“a type of sound change whereby a phonemic contrast that used to involve a certain feature evolves in such a way that the contrast is preserved, yet becomes associated with a different feature”). British, English, Oxford, US, rare, uncountable
"For example, Mandarin uses the suffix ɚ < ér 兒 'son' while Cantonese employs tone sandhi, changing the citation tone to high rising tone, the cheshirization of an earlier segmental morpheme meaning 'son'."
Example
More examples"For example, Mandarin uses the suffix ɚ < ér 兒 'son' while Cantonese employs tone sandhi, changing the citation tone to high rising tone, the cheshirization of an earlier segmental morpheme meaning 'son'."
Etymology
From Cheshire (cat) (“fictional cat which disappeared leaving only its smile, from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) by the English author Lewis Carroll (1832–1898)”) + -ization (suffix forming nouns denoting the act, process, or result of doing or making something), coined by the American linguist James Matisoff (born 1937) in a 1991 book chapter entitled “Areal and Universal Dimensions of Grammatization in Lahu”.
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.