adjective
- relating to or characterized by aphesis; formed by the loss of an initial sound or syllable
Usage: linguistics; technical
Examples
- The word 'squire' is an aphetic form of 'esquire,' with the initial syllable dropped over time.
- Linguists study aphetic words to understand how language evolves and simplifies.
- The term 'bus' is aphetic, derived from 'omnibus' by removing the first part.
- Aphetic processes are common in the development of informal or colloquial speech.