Epenthesis

2 definitions found

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

  Epenthesis \E*pen"the*sis\, n.; pl. {Epentheses}. [L., fr. Gr.
     ?; 'epi` + ? to put or set in.] (Gram.)
     The insertion of a letter or a sound in the body of a word;
     as, the b in "nimble" from AS. n[=e]mol.
     [1913 Webster]



From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  epenthesis
       n : the insertion of a vowel or consonant into a word to make
           its pronunciation easier; "the insertion of a vowel in
           the plural of the word `bush' is epenthesis"
       [also: {epentheses} (pl)]