metathesis means the transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word, such as in ask as /æks/. It carries an Arena rating of 1515, earned across 12 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, metathesis ranks #2,187 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #2,922 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #3,587 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words, #4,656 of 17,163 for Funniest Words.
metathesis is pronounced /məˈtæ.θə.sɪs/.
Why “metathesis” is a great word
A transposition of sounds, letters, or syllables within a single word, or, in chemical reaction, the exchange of bonds between molecules. From Late Latin metathesis, from Ancient Greek μετάθεσις (metáthesis), from μετά (metá, "among, change") + θέσις (thésis, "placement, setting"), first recorded in English 1530–40. Unlike an anagram, which demands a complete and playful rearrangement, or epenthesis, which inserts an extra sound, metathesis is a sly, local swap of neighbors. It is the comfortable slip of 'ask' becoming 'aks,' the historical solidification of 'bird' from Old English 'brid,' or the culinary alchemy where 'frumenty' becomes 'firmity'—a quiet testament to language's restless, liquid logic.
Etymology
Borrowed from Late Latin metathesis, from Ancient Greek μετάθεσις (metáthesis), from μετά (metá, “among”) + θέσις (thésis, “placement”).
noun
- The transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word, such as in ask as /æks/.
- The double decomposition of inorganic salts.
- The breaking and reforming of double bonds in olefins in which substituent groups are swapped.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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