apostrophized
|a-pos-tro-phized|
🇺🇸
/əˈpɑːstrəˌfaɪz/
🇬🇧
/əˈpɒstrəˌfaɪz/
(apostrophize)
mark with an apostrophe / address in apostrophe
Etymology
'apostrophize' originates from modern English, formed from the noun 'apostrophe' plus the verb-forming suffix '-ize'; 'apostrophe' ultimately comes from Greek 'apostrophē', where 'apo-' meant 'away' and 'strophe' meant 'turning'.
'apostrophize' was formed in English by adding the suffix '-ize' to Middle English 'apostrophe' (from Old French 'apostrophe', from Latin 'apostrophus', from Greek 'apostrophē'), and the verb sense developed in Modern English.
Initially the Greek root referred to 'turning away' ('turning' or 'a turning away'), but over time the term 'apostrophe' came to denote both a rhetorical address to the absent and the punctuation mark; 'apostrophize' inherited these senses (to address in apostrophe; to mark with an apostrophe).
Meanings by Part of Speech
Verb 1
past tense or past participle form of 'apostrophize': addressed (someone) by apostrophe — i.e., spoke to or invoked an absent, dead, or inanimate person or abstraction as if present.
He apostrophized his late mentor during the lecture, addressing him as if he were in the room.
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Verb 2
past tense or past participle form of 'apostrophize': to have marked (a word or text) with an apostrophe or to have inserted apostrophes.
In his notes, dates were often apostrophized, producing inconsistent forms like '1990's' instead of 1990s.
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Last updated: 2025/09/22 13:07