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Definition of "epenthesis" []

  • The insertion of a sound in the middle of a word, as in Middle English thunder from Old English thunor. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "epenthesis" in a sentence
  • "In other words, epenthesis is likely to be unnecessary."
  • "This epenthesis is seen elsewhere, as in Herecele where its Greek origin emphasizes that this phonetic process did indeed happen."
  • "I notice that Mongolian also has a similar process of left-to-right schwa epenthesis however this seems to occur to resolve clustering in the coda not the onset."