n. The superscript sign ( ' ), usually used to indicate the omission of a letter or letters from a word, the possessive case, or the plurals of numbers, letters, and abbreviations. [French, from Late Latin apostrophus, from Greek apostrophos, from apostrephein, to turn away : apo-, apo- + strephein, to turn; see streb(h)- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] ap′os·trophic (ăp′ə-strŏfĭk) adj. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
n. The direct address of an absent or imaginary person or of a personified abstraction, especially as a digression in the course of a speech or composition. ap′os·trophic (ăp′ə-strŏfĭk) adj. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.