hyphen
/ˈhaɪ̯.fən/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.64 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The symbol "‐", typically used to join two or more words to form a compound term, or to indicate that a word has been split at the end of a line.
noun
Someone who belongs to a marginalized subgroup, and can therefore described by a hyphenated term, such as "German-American", "female-academic", etc.
conj
Used to emphasize the coordinating function usually indicated by the punctuation "-".
Example Sentences
- "As the proud owner of my very own hyphen in a lovingly crafted surname, I have an especial soft spot for this most confusing of punctuation marks."
- "Cunliffe and Karunanayake (2013) developed Fine's notion to introduce potential hyphen spaces that are deeply implicated and reciprocally influential in relationships between researchers and the researched."
- "The hyphens were added, joining the structures into one building, which now measures just over two hundred feet long."
- "Construction details for the hyphens, or "connecting wings" as they were called by the contractors, were included in the contractors' specifications, as follows:"
- "Those were the “hyphens,” the passageways that connected the wings of the mansion to its center."
- "Tab has been kept on quite a number of members who rapturously applauded when that part of the message in which the hyphens were attacked was read by the President."
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Late Latin hyphen, from Ancient Greek ῠ̔φέν (hŭphén, “in one, as a single word”), univerbation of ῠ̔φ’ ἕν (hŭph’ hén, “under one”), from ῠ̔πο- (hŭpo-, “under”) + ἕν (hén, “one”), neuter of εἷς (heîs, “one”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: ῠ̔φέν
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈhaɪ̯.fən/
- British English: /ˈhaɪ̯.fən/