[af-uh-sis] 
| the disappearance or loss of an unstressed initial vowel or syllable, as in the formation of the word slant from aslant. |
| aph·e·sis (āf'ĭ-sĭs) n. pl. aph·e·ses (-sēz') The loss of an initial, usually unstressed vowel, as in cute from acute. [Greek, a release, from aphīenai, aphe-, to let go : apo-, apo- + hīenai, to send; see diesis.] a·phet'ic (ə-fět'ĭk) adj., a·phet'i·cal·ly adv. |
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