hyphenate etymology

Etymology

Hyphen comes from the Greek word "hyphen," which means "together." It is a combining character (-) used to join words or parts of words, indicating a connection between them.

Meaning

A hyphen is a punctuation mark used to:

  • Connect compound words, such as "long-term" or "pick-up"
  • Separate prefixes or suffixes from roots, such as "anti-virus" or "un-do"
  • Indicate the division of a word at the end of a line

Origin

The hyphen was first used in Ancient Greek as a diacritical mark to indicate a change in vowel pronunciation. It later became a connecting character in some compound words. In English, the hyphen was introduced in the 15th century and has gradually evolved its uses.

Additional Notes

  • The hyphen is distinct from the dash (-), which is longer and has different grammatical functions.
  • The rules for hyphenation can vary depending on the style guide being used.
  • Hyphens can sometimes be used for emphasis or to clarify the meaning of a word or phrase.

hyphenate relate terms

  • hyphen

    Etymology Middle English iphen yphen c 1400 from Latin hyphen from Greek hyphḗ

  • empty

    Etymology The word empty comes from the Middle English word emty which in turn is d

  • warm

    Etymology The word warm is derived from the Old English word wearm which ultimately

  • write

    Etymology The study of the origin and history of words It examines how words change ove

  • spell

    Etymology Spell noun Old English spell meaning a spoken or written formula believ

  • comprehensive

    Etymology Comprehensive is derived from the Latin phrase comprehendere which means

  • chagrin

    Etymology The word chagrin comes from the Old French word chagriner meaning to anno

  • chicken

    Etymology The word chicken originates from the Old English word cicen which in turn

  • necromancy

    Etymology The term necromancy comes from the Greek words nekros νεκρός mean

  • nylon

    Etymology Nylon is a portmanteau of NY for New York and lon from the chemical suffix

  • contempt

    Etymology and Origin Latin contemptus a feeling of disrespect or scorn From the ve

  • utopia

    Etymology Greek ou not topos place Meaning An imagined place with perfec