synaloepha

[ sin-l-ee-fuh ]
/ ˌsɪn lˈi fə /

noun

the blending of two successive vowels into one, especially the coalescence of a vowel at the end of one word with a vowel at the beginning of the next.
Also syn·a·le·pha, syn·a·le·phe [sin-l-ee-fee] /ˌsɪn lˈi fi/.

Origin of synaloepha

1530–40; < New Latin < Greek synaloiphḗ, synaliphḗ, equivalent to syn- syn- + aloiph-, aliph- (variant stems of aleíphein to smear) + feminine noun suffix

Example sentences from the Web for synalepha

British Dictionary definitions for synalepha

synalepha

synaloepha

/ (ˌsɪnəˈliːfə) /

noun

linguistics vowel elision, esp as it arises when one word ends in a vowel and the following word begins with one

Word Origin for synalepha

C16: from Late Latin synaloepha, from Greek sunaliphē, from syn- + aleiphein to melt, smear