Elide

Elide is a verb meaning to omit or slur sounds or letters in speech or writing. In everyday use, elision describes how pronounced forms differ from their full spellings, often to ease pronunciation or fit a rhythm or meter. The noun elision is commonly used in linguistics to refer to the process itself.

Etymology and scope: the term comes from Latin elidere, meaning to strike out or erase. Elide is used across languages to describe the removal of sounds or letters, whether in spoken language, formal poetry, or orthography. It can involve vowels, consonants, or whole syllables and may occur in rapid speech, casual speech, or set poetic forms.

Phonological elision: in linguistics, elision refers to the omission of sounds in connected speech. English examples include contractions such as I’m (I am), don’t (do not), and it’s (it is). Elision also afflicts unstressed syllables and vowels in rapid speech, and it interacts with other phonological processes like assimilation and reduction.

Elision in poetry and rhetoric: many languages use elision to create smooth meter or rhythm. Classical poetry often relies on elision between word endings and beginnings that would otherwise clash in tempo. In modern orthography, elision is sometimes indicated with apostrophes, as in o’er for over or e’er for ever.

Orthographic elision: beyond pronunciation, elide describes the omission of letters in contracted forms or stylistic abbreviations in writing. This can affect spelling conventions, punctuation, and the presentation of abbreviations or proper names in certain contexts.

See also: elision, contraction, assimilation. Elide encompasses both spoken and written omissions and is a common feature of many languages, affecting pronunciation, rhythm, and orthography.