metathesis

noun

me·tath·e·sis | \ mə-ˈta-thə-səs

plural metatheses\ mə-ˈta-thə-ˌsēz

Definition of metathesis

: a change of place or condition: such as

a : transposition of two phonemes in a word (as in the development of crud from curd or the pronunciation \ˈpər-tē\ for pretty)

b : a chemical reaction in which different kinds of molecules exchange parts to form other kinds of molecules

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Other Words from metathesis

metathetical \ ˌme-tə-ˈthe-ti-kəl

\ or metathetic \ ˌme-tə-ˈthe-tik

\ adjective

metathetically \ ˌme-tə-ˈthe-ti-k(ə-)lē

\ adverb

Did You Know?

One familiar example of metathesis is our word thrill, which was "thyrlian" in Old English and "thirlen" in Middle English. By the late 16th century, native English speakers had switched the placement of the "r" to form "thrill." Another example is the alteration of "curd" into "crud" (the earliest sense of which was, unsurprisingly, "curd"). It probably won't surprise you to learn that the origin of "metathesis" lies in the idea of transposition - the word was borrowed into English in the mid-16th century and derives, via Late Latin, from the Greek verb metatithenai, meaning "to transpose."

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More Definitions for metathesis

metathesis

noun

me·tath·e·sis | \ mə-ˈtath-ə-səs

plural metatheses\ -ˌsēz

Medical Definition of metathesis

: double decomposition

metathesis

Definition of metathesis

Other Words from metathesis

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First Known Use of metathesis

History and Etymology for metathesis

Medical Definition of metathesis

metathesis

Definition of metathesis

Other Words from metathesis

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First Known Use of metathesis

History and Etymology for metathesis

Medical Definition of metathesis

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