🇫🇷French Source WordCode: FR

métathèse

Pronunciation / Transliteration: métathèse

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Metathesis/məˈtæθəsɪs/
nounCEFR C1 (Advanced)Top #15000 frequency
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🇫🇷 Example Sentence in French:

"La métathèse est un phénomène phonétique courant dans l'évolution des langues."

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    The transposition of sounds or syllables within a word, such as the historical shift from Old English 'bridd' to Modern English 'bird'.

    "The pronunciation of 'comfortable' often undergoes metathesis in casual speech, resulting in 'comfterble'."
  2. 2

    A chemical reaction in which two compounds exchange elements or groups to form new compounds.

    "Double displacement reactions in chemistry are classic examples of chemical metathesis."

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Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

The term 'metathesis' originates from the Greek word 'metathesis', meaning 'a placing after' or 'transposition'. It entered the English language in the late 19th century, primarily used in linguistic contexts to describe the rearrangement of sounds or letters in a word.

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