Ecthlipses

/ɛkˈθlɪpsiːz/ noun

Definition

Plural of ecthlipsis; instances of omission or loss of sounds in speech or writing, particularly the elision of a final vowel.

Etymology

From Greek ekthlipsis 'a squeezing out' from ek- 'out' + thlibein 'to squeeze or press.' A linguistic term describing phonetic or orthographic omissions.

Kelly Says

Ecthlipses are linguistic squeezing—when sounds get literally 'squeezed out' of words, like when we say 'library' instead of 'libra-ary,' we're doing what the ancient Greeks called ekthlipsis!

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