apostrophised
|a-pos-tro-phis-ed|
🇺🇸
/əˈpɑːstrəˌfaɪz/
🇬🇧
/əˈpɒstrəˌfaɪz/
(apostrophise)
mark or address using an apostrophe
Etymology
'apostrophise' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'apostrophē', where 'apo-' meant 'away' and the root related to 'turn' ('strephein'). The English verb was formed from the noun 'apostrophe' with the verbalizing suffix '-ise'/'-ize'.
'apostrophē' entered Latin/Old French as 'apostrophe' and then Middle English adopted 'apostrophe' as the noun; from this noun the modern English verb 'apostrophise' (or US 'apostrophize') was formed by adding the verbal suffix.
Initially it referred to a 'turning away' (literal sense) and then to the rhetorical device of addressing someone or something; over time the verb developed the senses 'to address directly' and, by extension in writing, 'to mark with an apostrophe'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Verb 1
past tense or past participle of 'apostrophise': to address someone or something directly, especially in speech or literature (a rhetorical address to an absent or personified entity).
In the poem, the poet apostrophised Death as if speaking to it directly.
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Verb 2
past tense or past participle of 'apostrophise': to mark a word or contraction with an apostrophe (the punctuation mark ').
The editor apostrophised the decade as '80's' instead of the correct form '80s'.
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Last updated: 2025/09/22 12:24