{{Short description|Loss of the vowel at the beginning of a word}} {{refimprove|date=August 2024}} {{Sound change}} In phonetics and phonology, '''apheresis''' ({{IPAc-en|ə|ˈ|f|ɛr|ɪ|s|ɪ|s|,_|ə|ˈ|f|ɪər|ɪ|s|ɪ|s}}; {{langx|en-GB|'''aphaeresis'''}}) is a sound change in which a word-initial vowel is lost, e.g., ''American'' > ''<nowiki /> 'Merican''. In a broader sense, it can refer to the loss of any initial sound (including consonants) from a word or, in a less technical sense, to the loss of one or more sounds from the beginning of a word.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Campbell|first=Lyle|title=Glossary of Historical Linguistics|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|year=2007|isbn=978-0-7486-3019-6|page=[13 https://archive.org/details/glossaryofhistor0000camp/page/13]}}</ref> The more specific term '''aphesis''' (and its adjective ''aphetic'') is sometimes used to refer to the loss of unstressed vowels.
==Etymology== The term ''apheresis'', attested since at least 1550 in English, comes from Latin ''aphaeresis'', from Greek ἀφαίρεσις ''aphairesis'', "taking away" from ἀφαιρέω ''aphaireo'' from ἀπό ''apo'', "away" and αἱρέω ''haireo'', "to take".<ref name=":0" />
The hyponyms ''aphesis'' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|f|ə|s|ɪ|s}}) and ''aphetic'', coined in 1880 by James Murray, are inspired by Greek ἄφεσις ''aphesis'', "letting go" from ἀφίημι ''aphiemi'' from ἀπό ''apo'', "away" and ἵημι ''híemi'', "send forth".
==Historical sound change== In historical phonetics and phonology, the term "apheresis" is often limited to the loss of an unstressed vowel. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' gives that particular kind of apheresis the name '''aphesis''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|f|ᵻ|s|ɪ|s}}; from Greek ἄφεσις).
=== Loss of unstressed vowel === *{{Langx|el-Latn|epískopos}} > Vulgar Latin: *''(e)biscopus'' > {{Langx|ang|bisceop}} 'bishop' *English: ''acute'' > ''cute'' *English: ''because'' → informal ''<nowiki/>'cause'' *{{Langx|enm|Egipcien}} > {{Lang|enm|gipcyan, gipsen}} 'Gypsy'<ref>Online Etymology Dictionary, [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Gypsy Gypsy]. Retrieved 2010-07-13.</ref> *English: ''alone'' > ''lone'' *English: ''amend'' > ''mend'' *{{Langx|fro|e(s)vanisse}} > Middle English: {{Lang|enm|vanisshen}} 'vanish' * * *
===Loss of any sound=== *English: ''[k]nife'' → {{IPA|/ˈnaɪf/}} *Portuguese: ''está'' > colloquial ''tá'' *Proto-Norse: ''*[st]randa >'' {{Langx|sv|strand}} > {{Langx|fi|ranta}} 'beach' * {{Langx|la|Hispania}} > {{Langx|it|Spagna}} 'Spain' *Old English: {{Lang|ang|cneo}} > English: ''knee'' → {{IPA|/ˈniː/}}
==Poetic device== *English ''it is'' > poetic ''<nowiki />'tis'' *English ''upon'' > ''<nowiki />'pon'' *English ''eleven'' > ''<nowiki />'leven''
==Informal speech==
Synchronic apheresis is more likely to occur in informal speech than in careful speech: '''scuse me'' vs. ''excuse me'', and ''How 'bout that?'' vs. ''How about that?'' It typically supplies the input enabling acceptance of apheresized forms historically, such as ''especially'' > ''specially''. The result may be doublets, such as ''especially'' and ''specially'', or the pre-apheresis form may fail to survive (Old French {{Lang|fro|eschars}} > English ''scarce''). An intermediate status is common in which both forms continue to exist but lose their transparent semantic relationship: ''abate'' 'decrease, moderate', with ''bate'' now confined to the locution ''with bated breath'' 'with breath held back'.
==See also== {{Wiktionary|apheresis|aphaeresis|aphesis}} * Apocope * Elision * Initial dropping * List of phonetics topics * Syncope
==References==
===Notes=== {{reflist}}
===Bibliography=== *Alexander, James D. 1988. Aphesis in English. ''Word'' 39.29-65 *Crowley, Terry (1997). ''An Introduction to Historical Linguistics.'' 3rd edition. Oxford University Press.
Category:Figures of speech Category:Sound changes Category:Phonotactics