proclitic

9.9

A small word spoken together with the next word, like the 'a' in 'a book'

noun
/prəˈklɪtɪk/

Specialized

: proclítico

In some languages, the definite article is a proclitic attached to the following noun.

Examples

In French, the word 'l' is a proclitic article.
A proclitic attaches to the beginning of a word.
The word 'a' in 'a book' is considered a proclitic in English.
When analyzing the sentence, the linguist identified the prefix as a proclitic.
In some languages, the definite article is a proclitic attached to the following noun.
The word 'a' in 'a book' is considered a proclitic in English.
In French, the word 'l' is a proclitic article.

Surface Forms

proclitic singular

proclitics plural

Morphology

proclitic = clitic (semi-transparent) = pro + clitic

The word is analyzable as 'pro-' + 'clitic' (a clitic that leans toward the following word), but both elements are technical and 'pro-' could be misinterpreted by learners.

Etymology

Proclitic comes from pro- meaning 'before' and clitic from a Greek word meaning 'to lean', so think of 'lean' or 'leaning'. So a proclitic is a small word that 'leans' on the word that comes after it, which explains why it is pronounced together with the following word.