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elision - 3 dictionary results

e⋅li⋅sion

  [i-lizh-uhn]
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–noun
1. the omission of a vowel, consonant, or syllable in pronunciation.
2. (in verse) the omission of a vowel at the end of one word when the next word begins with a vowel, as th'orient.
3. an act or instance of eliding or omitting anything.
Origin:
1575–85; < L ēlīsiōn- (s. of ēlīsiō) a striking out, equiv. to ēlīs(us) (ptp. of ēlīdere; see elide ) + -iōn- -ion
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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e·li·sion   (ĭ-lĭzh'ən)   
n.  
    1. Omission of a final or initial sound in pronunciation.
    2. Omission of an unstressed vowel or syllable, as in scanning a verse.
  2. The act or an instance of omitting something.

[Latin ēlīsiō, ēlīsiōn-, from ēlīsus, past participle of ēlīdere, to strike out; see elide.]
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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elision

(Latin: "striking out"), in prosody, the slurring or omission of a final unstressed vowel that precedes either another vowel or a weak consonant sound, as in the word heav'n. It may also be the dropping of a consonant between vowels, as in the word o'er for over. Elision is used to fit words into a metrical scheme, to smooth the rhythm of a poem, or to ease the pronunciation of words. In classical Greek poetry, an apostrophe (') is substituted for an elided letter, as is frequently the case in English verse. In Latin, however, the elided vowel or consonant remains, but it is ignored in scanning the line

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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