aphesis

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aphesis

/ˈæ.fə.sɪs/

Where it comes from

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

noun apheses

countable, rhetoric, uncountable The loss of the initial unstressed vowel of a word. The word "scarp" is derived from "escarp" by aphesis.

Translations

Every language

noun loss of the initial unstressed vowel of a word

Español	aféresis
한국어	아페시스 apesiseu
日本語	語頭母音消失 gotō-boin shōshitsu
Português	aférese
Français	aphérèse
Italiano	aferesi
Ελληνικά	αφαίρεση afaíresi

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MLA

"aphesis." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/aphesis. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

aphesis. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/aphesis

Chicago

"aphesis." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/aphesis.

BibTeX

@misc{aphesis_2026,
  title = {aphesis},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/aphesis},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}