1. (Gram.) The dropping of a letter or syllable from the beginning of a word; e. g., cute for acute.
2. (Surg.) An operation by which any part is separated from the rest. [Obs.] Dunglison.
Aphesis
(||Aph"e*sis) n. [Gr. a letting go; + to let go.] The loss of a short unaccented vowel at the
beginning of a word; — the result of a phonetic process; as, squire for esquire. New Eng. Dict.
Aphetic
(A*phet"ic) a. [Gr. letting go, fr. to let go.] Shortened by dropping a letter or a syllable from
the beginning of a word; as, an aphetic word or form. — A*phet"ic*al*ly, adv. New Eng. Dict.
Aphetism
(Aph"e*tism) n. An aphetized form of a word. New Eng. Dict.
Aphetize
(Aph"e*tize) v. t. To shorten by aphesis.
These words . . . have been aphetized.
New Eng. Dict.
Aphid
(A"phid) n. (Zoöl.) One of the genus Aphis; an aphidian.
Aphides
(Aph"i*des) n. pl. (Zoöl.) See Aphis.
Aphidian
(A*phid"i*an) a. (Zoöl.) Of or pertaining to the family Aphidæ. — n. One of the aphides; an
aphid.
Aphidivorous
(Aph`i*div"o*rous) [Aphis + L. vorare to devour.] (Zoöl.) Devouring aphides; aphidophagous.
Aphidophagous
(Aph`i*doph"a*gous) a. [Aphis + Gr. to eat.] (Zoöl.) Feeding upon aphides, or plant
lice, as do beetles of the family Coccinellidæ.
Aphilanthropy
(Aph`i*lan"thro*py) n. [Gr. not loving man; 'a priv. + to love + man.] Want of love to
mankind; — the opposite of philanthropy. Coxe.
Aphis
(||A"phis) n.; pl. Aphides [NL.] (Zoöl.) A genus of insects belonging to the order Hemiptera and
family Aphidæ, including numerous species known as plant lice and green flies.
Besides the true males and females, there is a race of wingless asexual individuals which have the power
of producing living young in rapid succession, and these in turn may produce others of the same kind
for several generations, before sexual individuals appear. They suck the sap of plants by means of a
tubular proboscis, and owing to the wonderful rapidity of their reproduction become very destructive to
vegetation. Many of the Aphidæ excrete honeydew from two tubes near the end of the body.
Aphis lion
(A"phis li"on) (Zoöl.) The larva of the lacewinged flies which feeds voraciously upon aphids.
The name is also applied to the larvæ of the ladybugs
Aphlogistic
(Aph`lo*gis"tic) a. [Gr. not inflammable; 'a priv. + set on fire. See Phlogiston.] Flameless; as,
an aphlogistic lamp, in which a coil of wire is kept in a state of continued ignition by alcohol, without
flame.
Aphonia
(||A*pho"ni*a Aph"o*ny) n. [NL. aphonia, Gr. fr. voiceless; 'a priv. + voice: cf. F. aphonie.]
(Med.) Loss of voice or vocal utterance.
Aphonic
(A*phon"ic Aph"o*nous) a. Without voice; voiceless; nonvocal.
Aphorism
(Aph"o*rism) n. [F. aphorisme, fr. Gr. definition, a short, pithy sentence, fr. to mark off by
boundaries, to define; from + to separate, part. See Horizon.] A comprehensive maxim or principle
