apostrophe
UK[əˈpɒstrəfi]US[əˈpɑːstrəfi]
n
a punctuation mark (’) used to indicate either possession or the omission of letters or numbers.
n
a digression in a speech to address an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction.
Morpheme Breakdown
apo
strophe
apo
away
strophe
turn
Etymology
the word 'apostrophe' entered english in the late 16th century via latin from greek apostrophē, a noun derived from the verb apostrephein, meaning 'to turn away'. the greek elements are apo- ('away from') and strephein ('to turn'). in its original rhetorical sense, it described the oratorical device of 'turning away' from the main audience to address an absent entity directly. the grammatical sense of the punctuation mark, which 'turns away' or omits letters, developed later by association with the concept of elision, where a sound is 'turned away' or omitted.
Analysis
Structure: apo (away) + strophe (turn)
apo (from greek, meaning "away from, off, separate"); strophe (from greek strophē, meaning "a turning, twist")
Examples
the apostrophe in "can't" shows where the letters 'n' and 'o' have been omitted.
she carefully placed an apostrophe before the 's' to show possession.
the poet's apostrophe to the nightingale is a famous example of this rhetorical figure.