Link Centre Dictionary

hyphen

hyp·hen

UK/ˈhaɪ̯.f(ə̯)n̩/ US/ˈhaɪ̯.fən/ uncommon dated
noun (1) verb (1)

noun

1.

a punctuation mark (-) used between parts of a compound word or between the syllables of a word when the word is divided at the end of a line of text

Synonyms

verb

1.

divide or connect with a hyphen

  • “hyphenate these words and names”
Synonyms

Origin

Learned borrowing from Late Latin hyphen, from Ancient Greek ῠ̔φέν (hŭphén, “in one, as a single word”), univerbation of ῠ̔φ’ ἕν (hŭph’ hén, “under one”), from ῠ̔πο- (hŭpo-, “under”) + ἕν (hén, “one”), neuter of εἷς (heîs, “one”).

Phrases

  • soft hyphen
  • suspended hyphen
  • work the hyphens

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.