apostrophe

1 of 2

noun (1)

apos·​tro·​phe ə-ˈpä-strə-(ˌ)fē How to pronounce apostrophe (audio)
: a mark ' used to indicate the omission of letters or figures, the possessive case (as in "John's book"), or the plural of letters or figures (as in "the 1960's")
In the contraction "can't," the apostrophe replaces two of the letters in the word "cannot."

apostrophe

2 of 2

noun (2)

: the addressing of a usually absent person or a usually personified thing rhetorically
Carlyle's "O Liberty, what things are done in thy name!" is an example of apostrophe.

Examples of apostrophe in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Today’s groups are... Yellow group — equip Green group — individuality Blue group — furniture Purple group — words with apostrophes removed What Are Today’s Connections Answers? Spoiler alert! —Kris Holt, Forbes, 3 Nov. 2024 Between the lines: Republicans have argued vigorously that the apostrophe placed in the transcript is erroneous and that Biden was actually criticizing individual Trump voters. —Andrew Solender, Axios, 1 Nov. 2024 The Stenography Office isn't disputing the apostrophe that was added in by the White House press and communications team, rather how it was handled. —Justin Gomez, ABC News, 1 Nov. 2024 No need to guess; the apostrophes were straight as arrows. —Matthew Schnipper, The Atlantic, 3 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for apostrophe 

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

borrowed from French & Late Latin; French, borrowed from Late Latin apostrophus, apostrophos "mark placed above a consonant to indicate that a following vowel has been deleted," borrowed from Greek apóstrophos (feminine noun, presumably shortened from the collocation apóstrophos prosōidía, with prosōidía in sense "accent mark"), from apóstrophos, adjective, "turned away, averted," derivative of apostréphein "to turn back, turn away" — more at apostrophe entry 2

Note: The sources of English apostrophe imply that the word would have been pronounced with three syllables, but pronunciation with four syllables, copying apostrophe entry 2, was general by at least the time of the Oxford English Dictionary, first edition (1885). An early occurrence in Shakespeare's Love's Labor Lost, 1598 ("You finde not the apostraphas, and so misse the accent") is apparently directly from Latin. The motivation for the sense "turned away, averted" is uncertain. Classical scholia explain apóstrophos variously as referring to the bent shape of the mark, or to its function as averting hiatus (see W. S. Allen, Vox Graeca, second edition, Cambridge, 1974, p. 94; according to Allen, "the latter explanation seems the more probable").

Noun (2)

borrowed from Latin apostropha, borrowed from Greek apostrophḗ "turning back or away, (in rhetoric) turning away from a group of hearers to a single person," noun derivative of apostréphein "to turn back, turn away, avert," from apo- apo- + stréphein "to turn, twist" — more at strophe

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1705, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1533, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of apostrophe was in 1533

Dictionary Entries Near apostrophe

Apostolos

apostrophe

apostrophic

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Apostrophe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/apostrophe. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.

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Kids Definition

apostrophe

1 of 2 noun
apos·​tro·​phe ə-ˈpäs-trə-(ˌ)fē How to pronounce apostrophe (audio)
: the addressing of an absent person as if present or of a personified thing (as in "O grave, where is thy victory?")

apostrophe

2 of 2 noun
: a mark ' used to show that letters or figures are missing (as in can't for cannot or '76 for 1776) or to show the possessive case (as in Steven's) or the plural of letters or figures (as in "cross your t's")

More from Merriam-Webster on apostrophe

Nglish: Translation of apostrophe for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of apostrophe for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about apostrophe

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