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a·pos·tro·phe²

(ə-pŏstrə-fē)

The direct address of an absent or imaginary person or of a personified abstraction, especially as a digression in the course of a speech or composition.

[Late Latin apostrophē, from Greek, from apostrephein, to turn away; see APOSTROPHE¹.]

ap′os·trophic (ăp′ə-strŏfĭk) adj.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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