n. Modification of the sound of a word or morpheme when juxtaposed with another, especially in fluent speech, as the modification of the pronunciation of don't in don't you from its pronunciation in isolation or in a phrase like don't we. [Sanskrit saṃdhiḥ, union, sandhi : sam, together; see sem-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots + dadhāti, dhī-, he places; see dhē- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.