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) +
-ē feminine noun suffix
Words nearby synaloepha
synaeresis,
synaesthesia,
synagogue,
synalepha,
synalgia,
synaloepha,
synapse,
synapsid,
synapsis,
synapte,
synaptic
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