adverb
- In a manner relating to or involving metathesis; by means of transposition or rearrangement of sounds, letters, or elements.
Usage: linguistics; formal
Examples
- The word 'ask' developed metathetically from an earlier form with a different sound order.
- In historical linguistics, scholars trace how certain words evolved metathetically over centuries.
- The consonants were rearranged metathetically, changing the pronunciation of the word.
- Some dialects preserve older forms that other dialects have altered metathetically.