Enclitic

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Enclitic \En*clit"ic\ ([e^]n*kl[i^]t"[i^]k), Enclitical
  \En*clit"ic*al\ ([e^]n*kl[i^]t"[i^]*kal), a. [L. encliticus, Gr.
     'egkli`tikos, fr. 'egkli`nein to incline; 'en in + kli`nein
     to bend. See {In}, and {Lean}, v. i.] (Gram.)
     Affixed; subjoined; -- said of a word or particle which leans
     back upon the preceding word so as to become a part of it,


     and to lose its own independent accent, generally varying
     also the accent of the preceding word.
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Enclitic \En*clit"ic\, n. (Gram.)
     A word which is joined to another so closely as to lose its
     proper accent, as the pronoun thee in prithee (pray thee).
     [1913 Webster]