apostrophize
|a-pos-tro-phi-ze|
🇺🇸
/əˈpɑːstrəˌfaɪz/
🇬🇧
/əˈpɒstrəˌfaɪz/
mark with an apostrophe / address in apostrophe
Etymology
'apostrophize' originates from English, specifically from the noun 'apostrophe' plus the verbalizing suffix '-ize', where 'apostrophe' ultimately comes from Greek 'apostrophē' and the suffix '-ize' (from Greek '-izein' via Latin/French) meant 'to make or to do'.
'apostrophize' developed from the noun 'apostrophe' (Middle English from Old French 'apostrophe', from Late Latin/Greek 'apostrophē'), combined with the productive English suffix '-ize' (from Greek '-izein' through Latin and Old French), giving the modern verb form 'apostrophize'.
Initially, the Greek root 'apostrophē' meant 'a turning away' (apo- 'away' + strephein 'to turn'), then the noun 'apostrophe' came to mean either the punctuation mark indicating omitted letters or the rhetorical address form; 'apostrophize' acquired the verb senses 'to mark with an apostrophe' and 'to address in apostrophe'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Verb 1
to mark or modify a word or phrase by inserting an apostrophe (for example, to indicate omitted letters or possession); to contract words using an apostrophe.
Many novice editors apostrophize possessive pronouns incorrectly.
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Antonyms
Verb 2
to address someone or something in the rhetorical figure called an apostrophe (i.e., to speak to an absent or imaginary person or to an abstract idea).
In his poem he apostrophize the sea as if it were a living listener.
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Last updated: 2025/09/22 12:57