Synalepha

Synalepha

A synalepha (IPA|/ˌsɪnəˈlifə/, from Greek "synaleifein" “to smear together”, also synaloepha) is the elision of two syllables into one.

Examples:

* "Apollo's priest to th'Argive fleet doth bring" (from Homer)

Spanish and Italian use the synalepha very frequently. For instance, in a hendecasyllable by Garcilaso de la Vega:

"Los cabellos que al oro escurecían".
("The hair that from gold grew darker")

"que" and "al" form one syllable when counting them because of the synalepha. The same thing happens with "-ro" and "es-", thus allowing the correct number of syllables for a hendecasyllable, eleven and rendering it pronounced as follows:

"Los cabellos queal oroescurecían".

See also

* Contraction (grammar)
* Crasis
* Elision
* Syncope
* Synaeresis


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  • Synalepha — Syn a*le pha, n. [NL., fr. L. synaloepha, Gr. ?, from ? to melt together; sy n with + ? to besmear.] (Gram.) A contraction of syllables by suppressing some vowel or diphthong at the end of a word, before another vowel or diphthong; as, th army,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • synalepha — syn·a·le·pha also syn·a·loe·pha (sĭn ə lēʹfə) n. The blending into one syllable of two successive vowels of adjacent syllables, especially to fit a poetic meter; for example, th elite for the elite.   [New Latin, from Greek sunaloiphē, from… …   Universalium

  • synalepha — noun a) the suppression of a vowel at the end of word when it is followed by another word beginning with a vowel. b) the melding into a single syllable of two vowels from two different syllables …   Wiktionary

  • synalepha — syn·a·le·pha …   English syllables

  • synalepha — noun see synaloepha …   Useful english dictionary

  • synaloepha — Synalepha Syn a*le pha, n. [NL., fr. L. synaloepha, Gr. ?, from ? to melt together; sy n with + ? to besmear.] (Gram.) A contraction of syllables by suppressing some vowel or diphthong at the end of a word, before another vowel or diphthong; as,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Elision — For other uses, see Elision (disambiguation). Elider redirects here. For the fantasy novel, see Elidor. Sound change and alternation Metathesis Quantitative metathesis …   Wikipedia

  • Syncope (phonetics) — Sound change and alternation Metathesis Quantitative metathesis …   Wikipedia

  • Synaloepha — Syn a*l[oe] pha, n. [L.] Same as {Synalepha}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Meter (poetry) — In poetry, meter (metre in British English) is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse or lines in verse. Many traditional verse forms prescribe a specific verse meter, or a certain set of meters alternating in a particular order. The study of… …   Wikipedia

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