iambic shortening

noun

In Latin, the shortening of an etymologically long final vowel, in a two-syllable word where the first vowel is also short. It tended to persist in uninflected words like bene, but was levelled out in favour of inflectional regularity in other words.

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Meanings

nouniambic shortening (countable and uncountable, plural iambic shortenings)

plural iambic shortenings

  1. countableuncountablehuman sciencesIn Latin, the shortening of an etymologically long final vowel, in a two-syllable word where the first vowel is also short. It tended to persist in uninflected words like bene, but was levelled out in favour of inflectional regularity in other words.
Cite this entry
APA

iambic shortening. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/iambic%20shortening

MLA

“iambic shortening.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/iambic%20shortening. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “iambic shortening,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/iambic%20shortening.

Source: iambic shortening on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.