noun
- The loss or omission of a short unaccented vowel at the beginning of a word, as in the development of English 'squire' from 'esquire'.
Usage: linguistics; historical phonology
Examples
- Aphesis explains how 'esquire' became 'squire' in English.
- The word 'possum' is an example of aphesis from the Powhatan word 'aposoum'.
- Linguists study aphesis to understand sound changes in language evolution.
- Aphesis is the opposite of epenthesis, which adds sounds to words.