apophony
/əˈpɑfəni/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 0.00 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
Modification of an internal vowel sound in a word or linguistic root, especially so as to establish a lexical distinction.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "Cinglar has the merit of referring to a back and forth movement, which one might suppose is suggested by the apophony of zinguizangue […]"
- "Apophony is also seen in talentum from τάλαντον [talanton] “talent, a unit of weight or currency.”"
- "Apophony in both inflection and derivation has been shrinking through the history of English, but continues to be available in synesthesia (e.g. bing, bang, bong, §10.3.2) and, less productively, in reduplicative and conjunctive formations (e.g. mishmash, §14.4)."
Etymology
From French apophonie, from French apo- + Ancient Greek φωνή (phōnḗ, “sound”), after Ancient Greek ἀπο- (apo-, “away, from, off”) + φωνή (phōnḗ, “sound”).
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /əˈpɑfəni/
- British English: /əˈpɒfəni/