See Also: hyphen(dictionary)
hyphen(dictionary)

hyphen (iou)



hyphen noun & verb. E17.
[Late Latin from late Greek huphen the sign &nfbreve;, use as noun of huphen together, from huph-, hupo HYPO- + hen neut. of heis one.]
A. noun.
A punctuation mark used to connect two words together, to indicate the division of a word between two successive lines, and to indicate a missing or implied element, and now represented as a short raised horizontal line. E17.
double hyphen: see DOUBLE adjective & adverb. soft hyphen: see SOFT adjective.
Day Lewis I do not use the hyphen in my surname.
transf. A short pause between two syllables in speaking. M19.
A narrow connecting link or passage. M19.
b. verb trans. Join by a hyphen; write (a compound) with a hyphen. E19.
hyphenless adjective M20.