Syncope

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈsɪŋkÉ™pi/
• Hyphenation: syn + co + pe

Origin

Late Latin syncope, from Ancient Greek συγκοπή, from σύν + κόπτω (koptein, "strike, cut off").

Full definition of syncope

Noun

1. A loss of consciousness when someone faints, a swoon.
• 1973 Patrick O'Brian, HMS Surprisethe rapidly-whitening face, the miserable fixed smile, meant a syncope within the next few bars.
2. (prosody, phonology) The absence of a sound from the interior of a word, for example by changing cannot to can't or the pronunciation of placenames in -cester (e.g. Leicester) as -ster.
3. A missed beat or off-beat stress in music resulting in syncopation.

Synonyms

• (swoon) faint, fainting

Hypernyms

• (prosody) metaplasm

Derived terms

• presyncope

Related terms

• syncopal, syncopic