Epenthesis

Pronunciation

• RP IPA: /ɪˈpÉ›n.θə.sɪs/

Origin

Middle of 16th century: via Late Latin, from Ancient Greek ἐπένθεσις, from ἐπεντίθημι (epentithēmi, "I insert"), from ἐπί + ἐντίθημι (entithēmi, "I put in"), from ἐν (en, "in") + τίθημι (tithēmi, "I put, place").

Full definition of epenthesis

Noun

1. (phonetics, prosody) The insertion of a phoneme, letter, or syllable into a word, usually to satisfy the phonological constraints of a language or poetic context.

Derived terms

• epenthetic

Hypernyms

• metaplasm

Hyponyms

• excrescence
• anaptyxis