Dissimilated

/dɪˈsɪmɪleɪtɪd/ adjective, verb (past tense)

Definition

Made or become dissimilar or unlike; changed so as to no longer resemble each other (as past tense of dissimilate).

Etymology

From the past participle of Latin dissimilare. The -ed ending marks this as either an adjective describing a state or the past tense of the verb. In linguistics, dissimilated describes sounds that have undergone the process of becoming more different.

Kelly Says

Linguists love pointing out dissimilated words: 'February' has a dissimilated pronunciation (FEB-roo-air-ee) where the r-sounds changed from the original Latin 'Februarius'—our mouths naturally want to make repeated similar sounds less similar.

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