What do you call the act of removing a part of a word and replacing it with an apostropheWhat is a canvas tent that is used for emergency/survival called in English?What do we call an act of making sounds from bending/twisting body joints (as in knuckles)?How would you say “extremes of the word” with an adjective of qualification?What is a word meaning “with a low possibility”?What do you call the wooden structure or the site where a boat docks?What is the English word for the tests that are made by a memory of people?What do we call the half closing of eyes?What's the best word or expression to claim that your given example is not fictitious and it's true?What's the word that refers to the pronoun the possessive pronoun his/her relates to?What do you call the “technique” of putting the right amount of syllables in a verse?

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What do you call the act of removing a part of a word and replacing it with an apostrophe


What is a canvas tent that is used for emergency/survival called in English?What do we call an act of making sounds from bending/twisting body joints (as in knuckles)?How would you say “extremes of the word” with an adjective of qualification?What is a word meaning “with a low possibility”?What do you call the wooden structure or the site where a boat docks?What is the English word for the tests that are made by a memory of people?What do we call the half closing of eyes?What's the best word or expression to claim that your given example is not fictitious and it's true?What's the word that refers to the pronoun the possessive pronoun his/her relates to?What do you call the “technique” of putting the right amount of syllables in a verse?













2















I don't remember the technical word for it. I think it's a figure of speech, but I am not sure.



Anyway, here is an example to illustrate what I mean:




He was an apostle!



He was a 'postle!




So what is it called? I am not sure if we can replace any part of the word with an apostrophe, but from memory it's mostly the beginning of the word.










share|improve this question

















  • 1





    Please note: removing a letter on purpose in writing is not the same thing as pronouncing something without some letter. So, which do you mean?

    – Lambie
    2 days ago















2















I don't remember the technical word for it. I think it's a figure of speech, but I am not sure.



Anyway, here is an example to illustrate what I mean:




He was an apostle!



He was a 'postle!




So what is it called? I am not sure if we can replace any part of the word with an apostrophe, but from memory it's mostly the beginning of the word.










share|improve this question

















  • 1





    Please note: removing a letter on purpose in writing is not the same thing as pronouncing something without some letter. So, which do you mean?

    – Lambie
    2 days ago













2












2








2








I don't remember the technical word for it. I think it's a figure of speech, but I am not sure.



Anyway, here is an example to illustrate what I mean:




He was an apostle!



He was a 'postle!




So what is it called? I am not sure if we can replace any part of the word with an apostrophe, but from memory it's mostly the beginning of the word.










share|improve this question














I don't remember the technical word for it. I think it's a figure of speech, but I am not sure.



Anyway, here is an example to illustrate what I mean:




He was an apostle!



He was a 'postle!




So what is it called? I am not sure if we can replace any part of the word with an apostrophe, but from memory it's mostly the beginning of the word.







word-request






share|improve this question













share|improve this question











share|improve this question




share|improve this question










asked 2 days ago









repomonsterrepomonster

1,146216




1,146216







  • 1





    Please note: removing a letter on purpose in writing is not the same thing as pronouncing something without some letter. So, which do you mean?

    – Lambie
    2 days ago












  • 1





    Please note: removing a letter on purpose in writing is not the same thing as pronouncing something without some letter. So, which do you mean?

    – Lambie
    2 days ago







1




1





Please note: removing a letter on purpose in writing is not the same thing as pronouncing something without some letter. So, which do you mean?

– Lambie
2 days ago





Please note: removing a letter on purpose in writing is not the same thing as pronouncing something without some letter. So, which do you mean?

– Lambie
2 days ago










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















5














When it's dropped as part of a way of speaking (which may eventually change the language as things drift over time), it's clipping. This is almost always losing one or more sounds at the start or end of the world - and it's how we get the word exam - from examination.



When it's done stylistically or for poetry to fit a metre, it's elision.



When it's a regular feature of English, or following the pattern of such a regular feature, and used to combine words, it's forming a contraction - like don't, can't, or Sam's (yes, the last one is a contraction, even when it's for the 'possessive', even though our language has lost the word that the -'s stands for2). Little fragments like -n't and -'s that are used in this way, at the end of a word, are called enclitics1.




1: Sam's might be "Sam is", such as "Sam's busy writing answers on ELL", or "Sam has", such as "Sam's been spending a lot of time on ELL", or the -'s can be a contraction of does or us in some situations. It can also be what's commonly called the possessive, as in "recently, Sam's usual method of procrastination is answering questions on ELL". The later type is referred to as the Saxon genitive as it forms the genitive (which covers possession, as well as a few other things, but we don't use that term as an everyday thing in English) and it comes from Old English (which owed rather a lot to the language brought over by the Saxons), and even then it wasn't a word - just a suffix, -es. In fact, there's some debate as to whether it was ever a separate word, rather than a pattern of inflection like -ing in modern English.



2: Some definitions I have read would exclude -n't from being any sort of clitic because the word it represents is still used separately, while -'s would meet all of the definitions I've seen when it's the Saxon genitive - but not when it's is.






share|improve this answer

























  • The answer covers situations not in the question. which was only about dropping an initial letter. It's fine to explain contractions but it's not really part of the question. Since you are doing "off topic", Sam's could be a restaurant. Many are called by a name with an apostrophe s.

    – Lambie
    2 days ago







  • 2





    Dropping that initial letter could well be clipping, because it is removing a full sound (indeed, a full syllable) from the word. People often seem to find extra information around the topic helpful, so as to avoid thinking the answer to their question applies to similar but different situations. And Sam's as the name of a restaurant is the Saxon genitive.

    – SamBC
    2 days ago



















2














This looks like elision:




1 a : the use of a speech form that lacks a final or initial sound which a variant speech form has (such as 's instead of is in there's)



b : the omission of an unstressed vowel or syllable in a verse to achieve a uniform metrical pattern




(source: Merriam-Webster)



It's omnipresent and often compulsory in French, but also regularly seen in English.






share|improve this answer























  • In French, the function of it is completely different....It's a grammar rule, among other things, not a style or speech choice. Otherwise,I agree though this is not only a poetry technique.

    – Lambie
    2 days ago












  • It could also be called abbreviation.

    – Jason Bassford
    2 days ago











  • @JasonBassford I have to disagree, in (casual, maybe not technical) English at least. Abbreviation generally occurs in different contexts and for different reasons than elision or contraction, and is never pronounced (unless you count acronyms), only written.

    – Hearth
    2 days ago










Your Answer








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2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes








2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









5














When it's dropped as part of a way of speaking (which may eventually change the language as things drift over time), it's clipping. This is almost always losing one or more sounds at the start or end of the world - and it's how we get the word exam - from examination.



When it's done stylistically or for poetry to fit a metre, it's elision.



When it's a regular feature of English, or following the pattern of such a regular feature, and used to combine words, it's forming a contraction - like don't, can't, or Sam's (yes, the last one is a contraction, even when it's for the 'possessive', even though our language has lost the word that the -'s stands for2). Little fragments like -n't and -'s that are used in this way, at the end of a word, are called enclitics1.




1: Sam's might be "Sam is", such as "Sam's busy writing answers on ELL", or "Sam has", such as "Sam's been spending a lot of time on ELL", or the -'s can be a contraction of does or us in some situations. It can also be what's commonly called the possessive, as in "recently, Sam's usual method of procrastination is answering questions on ELL". The later type is referred to as the Saxon genitive as it forms the genitive (which covers possession, as well as a few other things, but we don't use that term as an everyday thing in English) and it comes from Old English (which owed rather a lot to the language brought over by the Saxons), and even then it wasn't a word - just a suffix, -es. In fact, there's some debate as to whether it was ever a separate word, rather than a pattern of inflection like -ing in modern English.



2: Some definitions I have read would exclude -n't from being any sort of clitic because the word it represents is still used separately, while -'s would meet all of the definitions I've seen when it's the Saxon genitive - but not when it's is.






share|improve this answer

























  • The answer covers situations not in the question. which was only about dropping an initial letter. It's fine to explain contractions but it's not really part of the question. Since you are doing "off topic", Sam's could be a restaurant. Many are called by a name with an apostrophe s.

    – Lambie
    2 days ago







  • 2





    Dropping that initial letter could well be clipping, because it is removing a full sound (indeed, a full syllable) from the word. People often seem to find extra information around the topic helpful, so as to avoid thinking the answer to their question applies to similar but different situations. And Sam's as the name of a restaurant is the Saxon genitive.

    – SamBC
    2 days ago
















5














When it's dropped as part of a way of speaking (which may eventually change the language as things drift over time), it's clipping. This is almost always losing one or more sounds at the start or end of the world - and it's how we get the word exam - from examination.



When it's done stylistically or for poetry to fit a metre, it's elision.



When it's a regular feature of English, or following the pattern of such a regular feature, and used to combine words, it's forming a contraction - like don't, can't, or Sam's (yes, the last one is a contraction, even when it's for the 'possessive', even though our language has lost the word that the -'s stands for2). Little fragments like -n't and -'s that are used in this way, at the end of a word, are called enclitics1.




1: Sam's might be "Sam is", such as "Sam's busy writing answers on ELL", or "Sam has", such as "Sam's been spending a lot of time on ELL", or the -'s can be a contraction of does or us in some situations. It can also be what's commonly called the possessive, as in "recently, Sam's usual method of procrastination is answering questions on ELL". The later type is referred to as the Saxon genitive as it forms the genitive (which covers possession, as well as a few other things, but we don't use that term as an everyday thing in English) and it comes from Old English (which owed rather a lot to the language brought over by the Saxons), and even then it wasn't a word - just a suffix, -es. In fact, there's some debate as to whether it was ever a separate word, rather than a pattern of inflection like -ing in modern English.



2: Some definitions I have read would exclude -n't from being any sort of clitic because the word it represents is still used separately, while -'s would meet all of the definitions I've seen when it's the Saxon genitive - but not when it's is.






share|improve this answer

























  • The answer covers situations not in the question. which was only about dropping an initial letter. It's fine to explain contractions but it's not really part of the question. Since you are doing "off topic", Sam's could be a restaurant. Many are called by a name with an apostrophe s.

    – Lambie
    2 days ago







  • 2





    Dropping that initial letter could well be clipping, because it is removing a full sound (indeed, a full syllable) from the word. People often seem to find extra information around the topic helpful, so as to avoid thinking the answer to their question applies to similar but different situations. And Sam's as the name of a restaurant is the Saxon genitive.

    – SamBC
    2 days ago














5












5








5







When it's dropped as part of a way of speaking (which may eventually change the language as things drift over time), it's clipping. This is almost always losing one or more sounds at the start or end of the world - and it's how we get the word exam - from examination.



When it's done stylistically or for poetry to fit a metre, it's elision.



When it's a regular feature of English, or following the pattern of such a regular feature, and used to combine words, it's forming a contraction - like don't, can't, or Sam's (yes, the last one is a contraction, even when it's for the 'possessive', even though our language has lost the word that the -'s stands for2). Little fragments like -n't and -'s that are used in this way, at the end of a word, are called enclitics1.




1: Sam's might be "Sam is", such as "Sam's busy writing answers on ELL", or "Sam has", such as "Sam's been spending a lot of time on ELL", or the -'s can be a contraction of does or us in some situations. It can also be what's commonly called the possessive, as in "recently, Sam's usual method of procrastination is answering questions on ELL". The later type is referred to as the Saxon genitive as it forms the genitive (which covers possession, as well as a few other things, but we don't use that term as an everyday thing in English) and it comes from Old English (which owed rather a lot to the language brought over by the Saxons), and even then it wasn't a word - just a suffix, -es. In fact, there's some debate as to whether it was ever a separate word, rather than a pattern of inflection like -ing in modern English.



2: Some definitions I have read would exclude -n't from being any sort of clitic because the word it represents is still used separately, while -'s would meet all of the definitions I've seen when it's the Saxon genitive - but not when it's is.






share|improve this answer















When it's dropped as part of a way of speaking (which may eventually change the language as things drift over time), it's clipping. This is almost always losing one or more sounds at the start or end of the world - and it's how we get the word exam - from examination.



When it's done stylistically or for poetry to fit a metre, it's elision.



When it's a regular feature of English, or following the pattern of such a regular feature, and used to combine words, it's forming a contraction - like don't, can't, or Sam's (yes, the last one is a contraction, even when it's for the 'possessive', even though our language has lost the word that the -'s stands for2). Little fragments like -n't and -'s that are used in this way, at the end of a word, are called enclitics1.




1: Sam's might be "Sam is", such as "Sam's busy writing answers on ELL", or "Sam has", such as "Sam's been spending a lot of time on ELL", or the -'s can be a contraction of does or us in some situations. It can also be what's commonly called the possessive, as in "recently, Sam's usual method of procrastination is answering questions on ELL". The later type is referred to as the Saxon genitive as it forms the genitive (which covers possession, as well as a few other things, but we don't use that term as an everyday thing in English) and it comes from Old English (which owed rather a lot to the language brought over by the Saxons), and even then it wasn't a word - just a suffix, -es. In fact, there's some debate as to whether it was ever a separate word, rather than a pattern of inflection like -ing in modern English.



2: Some definitions I have read would exclude -n't from being any sort of clitic because the word it represents is still used separately, while -'s would meet all of the definitions I've seen when it's the Saxon genitive - but not when it's is.







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited 2 days ago

























answered 2 days ago









SamBCSamBC

12.8k1748




12.8k1748












  • The answer covers situations not in the question. which was only about dropping an initial letter. It's fine to explain contractions but it's not really part of the question. Since you are doing "off topic", Sam's could be a restaurant. Many are called by a name with an apostrophe s.

    – Lambie
    2 days ago







  • 2





    Dropping that initial letter could well be clipping, because it is removing a full sound (indeed, a full syllable) from the word. People often seem to find extra information around the topic helpful, so as to avoid thinking the answer to their question applies to similar but different situations. And Sam's as the name of a restaurant is the Saxon genitive.

    – SamBC
    2 days ago


















  • The answer covers situations not in the question. which was only about dropping an initial letter. It's fine to explain contractions but it's not really part of the question. Since you are doing "off topic", Sam's could be a restaurant. Many are called by a name with an apostrophe s.

    – Lambie
    2 days ago







  • 2





    Dropping that initial letter could well be clipping, because it is removing a full sound (indeed, a full syllable) from the word. People often seem to find extra information around the topic helpful, so as to avoid thinking the answer to their question applies to similar but different situations. And Sam's as the name of a restaurant is the Saxon genitive.

    – SamBC
    2 days ago

















The answer covers situations not in the question. which was only about dropping an initial letter. It's fine to explain contractions but it's not really part of the question. Since you are doing "off topic", Sam's could be a restaurant. Many are called by a name with an apostrophe s.

– Lambie
2 days ago






The answer covers situations not in the question. which was only about dropping an initial letter. It's fine to explain contractions but it's not really part of the question. Since you are doing "off topic", Sam's could be a restaurant. Many are called by a name with an apostrophe s.

– Lambie
2 days ago





2




2





Dropping that initial letter could well be clipping, because it is removing a full sound (indeed, a full syllable) from the word. People often seem to find extra information around the topic helpful, so as to avoid thinking the answer to their question applies to similar but different situations. And Sam's as the name of a restaurant is the Saxon genitive.

– SamBC
2 days ago






Dropping that initial letter could well be clipping, because it is removing a full sound (indeed, a full syllable) from the word. People often seem to find extra information around the topic helpful, so as to avoid thinking the answer to their question applies to similar but different situations. And Sam's as the name of a restaurant is the Saxon genitive.

– SamBC
2 days ago














2














This looks like elision:




1 a : the use of a speech form that lacks a final or initial sound which a variant speech form has (such as 's instead of is in there's)



b : the omission of an unstressed vowel or syllable in a verse to achieve a uniform metrical pattern




(source: Merriam-Webster)



It's omnipresent and often compulsory in French, but also regularly seen in English.






share|improve this answer























  • In French, the function of it is completely different....It's a grammar rule, among other things, not a style or speech choice. Otherwise,I agree though this is not only a poetry technique.

    – Lambie
    2 days ago












  • It could also be called abbreviation.

    – Jason Bassford
    2 days ago











  • @JasonBassford I have to disagree, in (casual, maybe not technical) English at least. Abbreviation generally occurs in different contexts and for different reasons than elision or contraction, and is never pronounced (unless you count acronyms), only written.

    – Hearth
    2 days ago















2














This looks like elision:




1 a : the use of a speech form that lacks a final or initial sound which a variant speech form has (such as 's instead of is in there's)



b : the omission of an unstressed vowel or syllable in a verse to achieve a uniform metrical pattern




(source: Merriam-Webster)



It's omnipresent and often compulsory in French, but also regularly seen in English.






share|improve this answer























  • In French, the function of it is completely different....It's a grammar rule, among other things, not a style or speech choice. Otherwise,I agree though this is not only a poetry technique.

    – Lambie
    2 days ago












  • It could also be called abbreviation.

    – Jason Bassford
    2 days ago











  • @JasonBassford I have to disagree, in (casual, maybe not technical) English at least. Abbreviation generally occurs in different contexts and for different reasons than elision or contraction, and is never pronounced (unless you count acronyms), only written.

    – Hearth
    2 days ago













2












2








2







This looks like elision:




1 a : the use of a speech form that lacks a final or initial sound which a variant speech form has (such as 's instead of is in there's)



b : the omission of an unstressed vowel or syllable in a verse to achieve a uniform metrical pattern




(source: Merriam-Webster)



It's omnipresent and often compulsory in French, but also regularly seen in English.






share|improve this answer













This looks like elision:




1 a : the use of a speech form that lacks a final or initial sound which a variant speech form has (such as 's instead of is in there's)



b : the omission of an unstressed vowel or syllable in a verse to achieve a uniform metrical pattern




(source: Merriam-Webster)



It's omnipresent and often compulsory in French, but also regularly seen in English.







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered 2 days ago









GlorfindelGlorfindel

5,19992639




5,19992639












  • In French, the function of it is completely different....It's a grammar rule, among other things, not a style or speech choice. Otherwise,I agree though this is not only a poetry technique.

    – Lambie
    2 days ago












  • It could also be called abbreviation.

    – Jason Bassford
    2 days ago











  • @JasonBassford I have to disagree, in (casual, maybe not technical) English at least. Abbreviation generally occurs in different contexts and for different reasons than elision or contraction, and is never pronounced (unless you count acronyms), only written.

    – Hearth
    2 days ago

















  • In French, the function of it is completely different....It's a grammar rule, among other things, not a style or speech choice. Otherwise,I agree though this is not only a poetry technique.

    – Lambie
    2 days ago












  • It could also be called abbreviation.

    – Jason Bassford
    2 days ago











  • @JasonBassford I have to disagree, in (casual, maybe not technical) English at least. Abbreviation generally occurs in different contexts and for different reasons than elision or contraction, and is never pronounced (unless you count acronyms), only written.

    – Hearth
    2 days ago
















In French, the function of it is completely different....It's a grammar rule, among other things, not a style or speech choice. Otherwise,I agree though this is not only a poetry technique.

– Lambie
2 days ago






In French, the function of it is completely different....It's a grammar rule, among other things, not a style or speech choice. Otherwise,I agree though this is not only a poetry technique.

– Lambie
2 days ago














It could also be called abbreviation.

– Jason Bassford
2 days ago





It could also be called abbreviation.

– Jason Bassford
2 days ago













@JasonBassford I have to disagree, in (casual, maybe not technical) English at least. Abbreviation generally occurs in different contexts and for different reasons than elision or contraction, and is never pronounced (unless you count acronyms), only written.

– Hearth
2 days ago





@JasonBassford I have to disagree, in (casual, maybe not technical) English at least. Abbreviation generally occurs in different contexts and for different reasons than elision or contraction, and is never pronounced (unless you count acronyms), only written.

– Hearth
2 days ago

















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