apostrophe
English[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /əˈpɒs.tɹə.fi/
- (US) IPA(key): /əˈpɑːs.tɹə.fi/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (AU) (file)
Etymology 1[edit]
From French apostrophe, or Latin apostrophus, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστροφος (apóstrophos, “accent of elision”), a noun use of an adjective from ἀποστρέφω (apostréphō, “I turn away”), from ἀπό (apó, “away from”) + στρέφω (stréphō, “to turn”).
Alternative forms[edit]
Noun[edit]
apostrophe (plural apostrophes)
- (orthography) The text character ’, which serves as a punctuation mark in various languages and as a diacritical mark in certain rare contexts.
- 2021, Claire Cock-Starkey, Hyphens & Hashtags, Bodleian Library, page 30:
- Since its inception the apostrophe has been a controversial piece of punctuation.
Usage notes[edit]
In English, the apostrophe is used to mark the possessive (e.g., “my friend’s wife”), and to show the omission of letters (e.g., “my friend’s angry”) or of numbers (e.g., "during the 1960s and ’70s").
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
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See also[edit]
apostrophe on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- dashes ( ‒ ) ( – ) ( — ) ( ― )
- ellipsis ( … )
- exclamation mark ( ! )
- fraction slash ( ⁄ )
- guillemets ( « » ) ( ‹ › )
- hyphen ( - ) ( ‐ )
- interpunct ( · )
- interrobang (rare) ( ‽ )
- parentheses ( ( ) )
- period (US) or full stop (Britain) ( . )
- question mark ( ? )
- quotation marks (formal) ( ‘ ’ ‚ ) ( “ ” „ )
- quotation marks (informal, computing) ( " ) ( ' )
Etymology 2[edit]
From Latin apostrophe, from Ancient Greek ἀποστροφή (apostrophḗ), from ἀποστρέφω (apostréphō, “I turn away”), from ἀπό (apó) + στρέφω (stréphō, “I turn”).
Noun[edit]
apostrophe (countable and uncountable, plural apostrophes)
- (rhetoric) A sudden exclamatory piece of dialogue addressed to someone or something, especially absent.
- [1835, L[arret] Langley, A Manual of the Figures of Rhetoric, […], Doncaster: Printed by C. White, Baxter-Gate, OCLC 1062248511, page 28:
- Apostrophe a bold digression makes,
Mov'd by some sudden thought the theme awakes.]
- 1842, Letitia Elizabeth Landon, Lady Anne Granard, volume 2, page 139:
- The warm apostrophe of Riccardini to this little representative of his parents, whom he called "the son of his love, the child of his old age, the gift of his beloved niece, on the behalf of his angel-daughter," affected them all;...
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
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Anagrams[edit]
French[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
- IPA(key): /a.pɔs.tʁɔf/
- Homophones: apostrophent, apostrophes
Audio (file)
Etymology 1[edit]
From Latin apostrophus, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστροφος (apóstrophos, “accent of elision”), a noun use of an adjective from ἀποστρέφω (apostréphō, “I turn away”).
Noun[edit]
apostrophe f (plural apostrophes)
Etymology 2[edit]
From Latin apostrophe, from Ancient Greek ἀποστροφή (apostrophḗ), from ἀποστρέφω (apostréphō, “I turn away”), from ἀπό (apó) + στρέφω (stréphō, “I turn”).
Noun[edit]
apostrophe f (plural apostrophes)
Related terms[edit]
Etymology 3[edit]
See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.
Verb[edit]
apostrophe
- inflection of apostropher:
Further reading[edit]
- “apostrophe”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
- English 4-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio links
- English terms derived from French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Orthography
- English terms with quotations
- English uncountable nouns
- en:Rhetoric
- en:Diacritical marks
- en:Punctuation marks
- en:Talking
- en:Figures of speech
- French 3-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French terms with homophones
- French terms with audio links
- French terms derived from Latin
- French terms derived from Ancient Greek
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French feminine nouns
- French countable nouns
- fr:Orthography
- fr:Rhetoric
- French non-lemma forms
- French verb forms