apocope means the loss or omission of the last vowel in a word, together with any consonants that follow it. It carries an Arena rating of 1514, earned across 8 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, apocope ranks #2,648 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #3,061 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words, #3,217 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #3,264 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say.
apocope is pronounced /əˈpɒ.kə.pi/.
Why “apocope” is a great word
The omission of the final sound or syllable of a word. From Late Latin apocopē, from Ancient Greek ἀποκοπή (apokopḗ), from ἀποκόπτω (apokóptō, 'cut off'), first attested in English in the late 16th century. Unlike apheresis, which shears from the beginning, or syncope, which snips from the middle, apocope is a vanishing act at the terminal point. It is the casual truncation of 'advertisement' to 'ad,' the cozy shortening of 'grandma' to 'gram,' and the poetic elision that turns 'over' to 'o'er' in a whispered verse—a quiet severing at the tail, language shedding weight with every farewell, each cut a small surrender to time's blunt scissors.
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Late Latin apocopē, derived from Ancient Greek ἀποκοπή (apokopḗ), ἀποκόπτω (apokóptō, “cut off”).
noun
- The loss or omission of the last vowel in a word, together with any consonants that follow it.
- The loss or omission of a sound or syllable from the end of a word.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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