apostrophus

plural apostrophi

1. archaicThe omission of a vowel or syllable from a word, usually indicated by the apostrophe symbol ( ' ). examples: 'til, can't

   Out of one word, the apostrophus is most usual in poesie;

   1865, Alexander Hume, Henry Benjamin Wheatley, Of the Orthographie and Congruitie of the Britan Tongue

   2 more examples

   Vowels suffer also this apostrophus before the consonant h.

   1640, Ben Jonson, The English Grammar: Book 2: Of Syntax

   Not that any examples are wanting to prove that the ancients did use the apostrophus in prose; for it was scarecely possible for them not to do so in many instances;

   1824, August Matthiä, Copious Greek Grammar - Volume 1, page xxxvi

2. archaicThe apostrophe symbol used to mark this elision.

   This apocope is denoted by the apostrophus ( ' ),

   1842, George Knox Gillespie, The Formative Greek Grammar, page 4

   2 more examples

   The apostrophus or mark of contraction, is the same with the comma, onely the difference is of place; for, this stands not in the line, but over the upper part thereof, where the contraction is:

   1644, Richard Hodges, The English Primrose

   In the Greek, as in other languages, a short vowel at the end of a word before another vowel, is thrown out by elision, and the apostrophus ' is placed as a mark or sign over the empty space;

   1833, Philipp Buttmann, Edmund Henry Barker, Dr. Philip Buttmann's Intermediate Or Larger Greek Grammar, page 46

3. historicalentertainmentAn open notehead ( ~ ) or an apostrophe ( ' ) used as a neume to mark a low, unaccented syllable at the beginning of a phrase or a short quick syllable

   You find not the apostrophus, and so miss the accent. Let me supervise the canzonet.

   1598, William Shakespeare, Love's Labour's Lost

   3 more examples

   In the early Graduals Benevento VI. 38 and 40, the apostrophus is common in syllabic passages in sequences, tropes and prosulae.

   2009, Iain Fenlon, Early Music History, page 66

   In transcriptions from Ben 34, I have not distinguished the apostrophus from regular notes.

   2010, Rebecca Maloy, Inside the Offertory: Aspects of Chronology and Transmission, page iv

   The early Beneventan apostrophus was optional, instructive and exemplary, suggesting low, quick, unaccented syllables at the start of a phrase (sometimes implying a preceding breath) in the Gregorian Mass Propers and short or quick syllables in tropes, prosulae and sequences.

   2017, John Boe, Chant and Notation in South Italy and Rome before 1300, page 66

4. The symbol 'Ↄ', used in Roman numerals to indicate multiplication by 10.

   Anno CIↃ IↃ C LXXXVI. (Apostrophus numbering): In the year 1686

   2018, Jan K. Coetzee, Books & Bones & Other Things, page 78

   3 more examples

   In every multiplication with ten a fresh apostrophus is added; thus IↃↃ = 5000, IↃↃↃ = 50,000.

   1862, Richard Hiley, The Elements of Latin Grammar, page 26

   The annexing of the apostrophus or inverted C (Ↄ) to IↃ makes its value ten times greater;

   1878, Ethan Allen Andrews, Grammar of the Latin Language, page 72

   The symbol Ↄ, known as the apostrophus, might be repeated one or more times after IↃ , each Ↄ making the number ten times greater, as IↃↃ = 5000, IↃↃↃↃ = 500,000.

   2002, Allied Chambers, The Chambers Dictionary