apheresis
9.9
The loss of sounds or letters at the start of a word
- noun
- /əˈfɛrɪsɪs/
- Specialized
:
aferesis
- The word 'til' is an example of apheresis, where the beginning of 'until' is omitted.
Examples
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In linguistics, apheresis refers to dropping the first sound in a word, such as saying 'rone' instead of 'crone'.
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Understanding apheresis can help in recognizing how certain dialects simplify words in everyday speech.
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If you don't know what apheresis is, who can spell it A pH?
Surface Forms
Morphology
apheresis = a + pheresis
Although analyzable into Greek combining forms (a- 'away' + -pheresis 'carrying away'), this is a technical linguistic term borrowed from Greek and not transparently understood by average learners.
Etymology
Apheresis comes from Greek parts a- 'away' and phairein 'to take', so it literally means 'taking away'. In linguistics it names the loss of sounds at the start of a word, so think of it as 'taking away the beginning', like 'til' from 'until'.
