adjective
- relating to or characterized by aphaeresis; involving the loss or omission of a sound or letter from the beginning of a word
Usage: linguistics; formal
Examples
- The word 'squire' is an aphaeretic form of the earlier 'esquire'.
- Linguists study aphaeretic changes in language evolution.
- The aphaeretic loss of the initial vowel is common in certain dialects.
- In historical phonology, aphaeretic processes shaped many modern words.