epithesis

English

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Ancient Greek ἐπίθεσις.

Noun

epithesis (countable and uncountable, plural epitheses)

1. (linguistics) The addition of a letter or sound at the end of a word, without changing its meaning, as in "numb" for "num" or "whilst" for "whiles".
   • 1972, Bruce L. Liles, Linguistics and the English Language: A Transformational Approach‎^[1]:

     Some linguists distinguish between epenthesis, addition within a word, and epithesis, addition at the end.

2. (medicine) The surgical correction of deformity or of crooked limbs.
3. (medicine) A splint or other appliance to be worn.

Related terms

• epenthesis
• epithetic

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “epithesis”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)