'aphesis' originates from New Latin, ultimately from Greek 'ἀφέσις' ('aphesis'), where the Greek verb 'ἀφίημι' ('aphiēmi') meant 'to let go, send away'.

'aphesis' entered scholarly and medical Latin from Greek 'ἀφέσις' and was later adopted into English (mainly in linguistic and philological contexts) to denote the dropping of an initial vowel.

Initially, it meant 'release' or 'remission' in Greek and Latin contexts, but over time it evolved into a specialized linguistic term meaning 'the loss of an initial vowel'.