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Other

enclitic


Definition of enclitic

noun

Linguistics
  • a word pronounced with so little emphasis that it is shortened and forms part of the preceding word, for example n’t in can’t. Compare with proclitic.

Derivatives

enclitically

adverb

Origin:

mid 17th century: via late Latin from Greek enklitikos, from enklinein 'lean on', from en- 'in, on' + klinein 'to lean'

enclitic in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of enclitic in the US English dictionary