Home British & World English enclitic

Definition of enclitic in English:

enclitic

noun

  • A word pronounced with so little emphasis that it is shortened and forms part of the preceding word, for example n't in can't.

    ‘With its multitude of vowels and complex systems of inflections and enclitics, Navajo is one of the most difficult languages in the world to learn.’
    Compare with proclitic
    ‘The object pronoun ‘me’ is arguably an enclitic, merging phonologically with the word that precedes it.’

adjective

  • Denoting or relating to an enclitic.

Origin

Mid 17th century via late Latin from Greek enklitikos, from enklinein ‘lean on’, from en- ‘in, on’ + klinein ‘to lean’.

Pronunciation

enclitic

/ɪnˈklɪtɪk/ /ɛnˈklɪtɪk/