syn·a·le·pha also syn·a·loe·pha (s n  -l  f)n. The blending into one syllable of two successive vowels of adjacent syllables, especially to fit a poetic meter; for example, th' elite for the elite. [New Latin, from Greek sunaloiph , from sunaleiphein, to coalesce, unite two syllables : sun-, syn- + aleiphein, to smear; see leip- in Indo-European roots.] |
synalepha, synaloepha [ˌsɪnəˈliːfə]
n
(Linguistics) Linguistics vowel elision, esp as it arises when one word ends in a vowel and the following word begins with one
[from Late Latin synaloepha, from Greek sunaliphē, from syn- + aleiphein to melt, smear]
synaloepha, synalepha
the contraction of two adjacent vowels into one syllable, as by elision.
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