Enclitic
//ɪnˈklɪtɪk// adj, noun
adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A clitic that joins with the preceding word phonetically, graphically, or both.
"The English possessive 's is an enclitic."
Adjective
- 1 Affixed phonetically. not-comparable
Example
More examples"Romanian is the only Romance language in which the definite article is enclitic."
Etymology
From Late Latin encliticus, from Ancient Greek ἐγκλιτικός (enklitikós, “inclined towards”), from ἐγκλίνειν (enklínein, “lean on”), from ἐν (en, “upon”) + κλίνειν (klínein, “to lean, incline”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.