Meanings
nounmetathesis (countable and uncountable, plural metatheses)
plural metatheses
- countablerhetoricuncountablehuman sciencesThe transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word.
- countableuncountablechemistryThe double decomposition of inorganic salts.
- countableuncountablechemistryThe breaking and reforming of double bonds in olefins in which substituent groups are swapped.
Synonyms & antonyms
nouna chemical reaction between two compounds in which parts of each are interchanged to form two new compounds (AB+CD=AD+CB)
Similar
double decompositiondouble decomposition reaction
Broader
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekμετάθεσις
- Late Latinmetathesis
- Englishmetathesis
Borrowed from Late Latin metathesis, from Ancient Greek μετάθεσις (metáthesis), from μετά (metá, “among”) + θέσις (thésis, “placement”).
More words from Late Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek μετάθεσις
- μετάθεσις (metáthesis)the transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
Arabic قَلْب مَكَانِيّ
- قَلْب مَكَانِيّ (qalb makāniyy)the transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
Bulgarian метате́за
- метате́за (metatéza)the transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
Catalan metàtesi
- metàtesithe transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
Chinese Mandarin 音位變換 /音位变换
- 音位變換 /音位变换the transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
Danish metatese, lydombytning
- metatesethe transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
- lydombytningthe transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
Dutch metathesis, metathese
- metathesisthe transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
- metathesethe transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
- letteromzettingthe transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
Finnish takaheitto, metateesi
- takaheittothe transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
- metateesithe transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
- metateesithe double decomposition of inorganic salts
- metateesithe breaking and reforming of double bonds in olefins in which substituent groups are swapped
French métathèse
- métathèsethe transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
German Metathese
- Metathesethe transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
Greek αντιμετάθεση
- αντιμετάθεση (antimetáthesi)the transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
Hungarian hangátvetés
- hangátvetésthe transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
Icelandic hljóðavíxl, stafavíxl
- hljóðavíxlthe transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
- stafavíxlthe transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
Italian metatesi
- metatesithe transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
Japanese 音位転換
- 音位転換 (on'itenkan)the transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
Latvian metatēze
- metatēzethe transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
Malay metatesis, metatesis
- metatesisthe transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
- metatesisthe breaking and reforming of double bonds in olefins in which substituent groups are swapped
Polish metateza, przestawka
- metatezathe transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
- przestawkathe transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
- metatezathe breaking and reforming of double bonds in olefins in which substituent groups are swapped
Portuguese metátese, dupla troca
- metátesethe transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
- dupla trocathe double decomposition of inorganic salts
- metátesethe double decomposition of inorganic salts
Romanian metateză
- metatezăthe transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
Russian метате́за, перестано́вка
- метате́за (metatɛ́za)the transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
- перестано́вка (perestanóvka)the transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
Scottish Gaelic eadar-chàradh
- eadar-chàradhthe transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
Spanish metátesis
- metátesisthe transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
Swedish stavelseväxling, metates
- stavelseväxlingthe transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
- metatesthe transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
Tagalog metatesis
- metatesisthe transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
Turkish metatez, göçüşme
- metatezthe transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
- göçüşmethe transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
Welsh trawsosodiad
- trawsosodiadthe transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word
Cite this entry
APA
metathesis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/metathesis
MLA
“metathesis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/metathesis. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “metathesis,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/metathesis.
Source: metathesis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.