aphaeresis aphaeresis
 aph-aer'-e-sis from Gk. apo “away” and hairein
“to take” ("a taking away from")
Also sp. apheresis
ablatio
abstraction from the first

The omission of a syllable or letter at the beginning of a word. A kind of metaplasm.
 
Examples
 

Omission of an initial letter:
What's the third R? Rithmetic! [for "Arithmetic"]

Omission of an initial syllable:
 The King hath cause to plain.[for "complain"]
—Shakespeare, King Lear 3.1.39
Related Figures
 
See Also
 

 
  Sources: Isidore 1.35.3;Mosellanus ("aphaeresis" "ablatio") a3r-v; Susenbrotus (1540) 20; Sherry (1550) 26 ("apheresis," "ablatio"); Wilson (1560) 202 ("abstraction from the first"); Peacham (1577) E2r


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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Gideon O. Burton, Brigham Young University
Please cite "Silva Rhetoricae" (rhetoric.byu.edu)

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