aphæresis
(əˈfɪərɪsɪs)
Also aphe-.
[a. L. aphæresis, a. Gr. ἀϕαίρεσις a taking away, n. of action f. ἀϕαιρέ-ειν, f. ἀϕ' = ἀπό off, away + αἱρέ-ειν to take, snatch. The Latin grammarians gave it the transf. sense.]
1. Gram. The taking away or suppression of a letter or syllable at the beginning of a word.
| 1611 Cotgr., Aphairese, the figure Aphæresis. 1789 Mrs. Piozzi Fr. & It. II. 24 The figure aphærisis [will] alter the appellation entirely. 1846 Tregelles tr. Gesenius Heb. Lex. 2/2 In Hebrew, א without a vowel is very often rejected from the beginning of a word by aphæresis. 1864 Webster Aphæresis, Apheresis. |
† 2. Med. Obs.
| 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp., Aphæresis in medicine denotes a necessary taking away or removal of something that is noxious. In surgery, an operation whereby something superfluous is taken away. 1880 Syd. Soc. Lex., Aphæresis, formerly used for large and injurious extraction of blood. |