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aphetic

 - 3 dictionary results

a⋅phet⋅ic

  [uh-fet-ik]
Use aphetic in a Sentence
–adjective
pertaining to or due to aphesis.
Origin:
1875–80; < Gk áphet(os) freed, discharged (aphe- (see aphesis ) + -tos ptp. suffix) + -ic

Related forms:
a⋅phet⋅i⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To aphetic
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.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

aphetic 
1880, from aphesis, coined by OED editor Sir James A.H. Murray (1837-1915) for "gradual and unintentional loss of a short unaccented vowel at the beginning of a word" (as squire from esquire), from Gk. aphienai "to let go, to send forth," from apo- "from" + hienai "to send."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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