aphairese

Aphairese, also spelled aphaeresis, is a phonological process in which one or more sounds, typically an initial vowel or syllable, are deleted from the beginning of a word. It is discussed in historical linguistics, phonology, and dialect studies as a way to account for certain word forms that appear without their initial segment.

In practice, aphairese most often results in the loss of an initial vowel from a root or stem, though initial consonants can also be omitted in some cases. The effect is common in rapid or casual speech, in language contact situations, and during historical sound changes. The process can produce shorter forms that become conventional in certain dialects or in writing, such as contractions or cliticized forms.

Common examples in English include o'clock, from of the clock, where the initial material of the word 'of' is dropped; and esquire, from esquire, where the initial e is dropped. In historical contexts, these forms are cited as instances of aphairese and help explain certain abbreviated spellings and pronunciations that persist in modern usage.

Aphairese is related to, but distinct from, other processes such as elision (the omission of sounds in connected speech across word boundaries) and apocope (loss of sounds at the end of a word). The term derives from Greek aphairesis, meaning "a taking away." The scope and productivity of aphairese vary across languages and historical periods.