eclipsis Definition
- 1the absence or suppression of a sound or syllable when speaking
- 2a linguistic phenomenon in which a sound or phoneme is omitted, replaced, or assimilated due to the influence of neighboring sounds
Using eclipsis: Examples
Take a moment to familiarize yourself with how "eclipsis" can be used in various situations through the following examples!
Example
In Irish, eclipsis occurs when certain prepositions are used with a following noun.
Example
The word 'an' in Irish undergoes eclipsis when it precedes a word beginning with a vowel.
Example
Eclipsis is a common feature of many languages, including Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Welsh.
eclipsis Synonyms and Antonyms
Synonyms for eclipsis
Phrases with eclipsis
a grammatical feature in the Irish language where a consonant is eclipsed by another consonant or a semivowel
Example
In Irish, the word for 'house' is 'teach', but when the word is preceded by the preposition 'in', it becomes 'i dteach' due to eclipsis.
Example
In some dialects of Irish, partial eclipsis occurs when the word 'fear' (man) is preceded by the preposition 'ar' (on), resulting in 'ar fhear'.
Example
In Irish, the word for 'book' is 'leabhar', but when it is preceded by the preposition 'ar', it becomes 'ar leabhar' due to total eclipsis.
Summary: eclipsis in Brief
'Eclipsis' [ɪˈklɪpsɪs] refers to the omission or suppression of a sound or syllable in speech, often due to the influence of neighboring sounds. This linguistic phenomenon is common in many languages, including Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Welsh. In Irish, eclipsis occurs when certain prepositions are used with a following noun, resulting in partial or total eclipses of the initial consonant.