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synalepha

syn·a·le·pha also syn·a·loe·pha

noun
The blending into one syllable of two successive vowels of adjacent syllables, especially to fit a poetic meter; for example, th' elite for the elite.

Origin: New Latin, from Greek sunaloiphē, from sunaleiphein, to coalesce, unite two syllables : sun-, syn- + aleiphein, to smear; see leip- in Indo-European roots.

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