Apostrophe Definition
(orthography) The text character ’, that serves as a punctuation mark in various languages and as a diacritical mark in certain rare contexts.
- soliloquy
- address
- invocation
- supplication
- sign of possession
- sign of omission
- plural mark
- contraction mark
- pause
Other Word Forms of Apostrophe
Noun
Origin of Apostrophe
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French from Late Latin apostrophus from Greek apostrophos from apostrephein to turn away apo- apo- strephein to turn streb(h)- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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From French apostrophe, or Latin apostrophus, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστροφος (apostrophos, “accent of elision”), a noun use of an adjective from ἀποστρέφω (apostrephō, “I turn away”).
From Wiktionary
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From Latin apostrophe, from Ancient Greek ἀποστροφή (apostrophē), from ἀποστρέφω (apostrephō, “I turn away”), from ἀπό (apo) + στρέφω (strephō, “I turn”).
From Wiktionary
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Late Latin apostrophē from Greek from apostrephein to turn away apostrophe1
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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