apophonies
|a-po-pho-nies|
🇺🇸
/əˈpɑfəni/
🇬🇧
/əˈpɒfəni/
(apophony)
alternating sounds within a word
Etymology
'apophony' originates from German 'Apophonie' (a 19th-century linguistic term), ultimately from Greek elements 'apo-' and 'phōnē', where 'apo-' meant 'away/off' and 'phōnē' meant 'sound/voice'.
'apophony' entered English via German 'Apophonie' and was adopted into English linguistic terminology as 'apophony'.
Initially related generally to 'a change or removal of sound', it evolved to the modern technical sense of 'alternation of sounds within words to mark grammatical contrasts'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the alternation of sounds (especially vowels) within a word to mark grammatical contrasts (e.g., sing ~ sang ~ sung); also called vowel gradation or ablaut.
Apophonies in some languages signal tense or number, as seen in English strong verbs.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2025/09/21 07:42