What does elision mean?
Elision is the omission of one or more sounds, syllables, or letters within a word during pronunciation. It is a universal feature of connected speech: English speakers routinely say "camra" for camera, "chocolate" with two syllables rather than three, and "fish 'n' chips" for fish and chips. Linguists treat elision as a natural process of articulatory economy — sounds that are hard to produce quickly simply disappear. The term also has an established place in poetry, where writers deliberately suppress syllables to maintain a meter, a technique common since classical verse. Beyond its technical senses, elision can occasionally refer more loosely to any act of leaving something out, such as words or details in a written account. Understanding elision helps explain why spoken language often differs so noticeably from its spelling, and why dictionaries list both careful, full pronunciations and the reduced forms people actually say.
nounThe act or practice of omitting sounds, syllables, or words in speech or writing, as in pronouncing "camera" as "camra." In linguistics, it refers specifically to the dropping of a sound or syllable within a word.
- The linguistic process of omitting a sound or syllable when speaking (e.g., "fish 'n' chips").
- In poetry and prosody, the suppression or slurring of a syllable to fit a metrical pattern.
- More generally, the omission of anything — words, details, steps — though this broader use is rarer.
"The elision of the final vowel is common in rapid, everyday speech."
"Rapid speech is full of elision: "probably" becomes "probly" without most speakers noticing."
"Milton's verse makes frequent use of elision to preserve the strict iambic line."
The plural typically appears in technical discussions when counting specific instances of sound omission in a text or corpus.
"The transcription marked several elisions where the speaker merged adjacent words."
Say "camera" out loud — you almost certainly just said "camra," and that tiny disappearance of a vowel is elision at work in your mouth right now.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of elision
Elision derives from the Latin verb "elidere," meaning "to strike out" or "to crush out," formed from "e-" (out) plus "laedere" (to strike). The term entered English in the early seventeenth century, initially in grammatical and rhetorical contexts describing the omission of vowels between words. It shares its Latin root with "elide," the verb form meaning to omit or slur a sound, and more distantly with "collide" and "collision," which come from related compounds of "laedere" meaning to strike together.
How elision is actually used
Elision is primarily a technical term in phonetics, phonology, and literary prosody, so it carries a somewhat academic register. In casual conversation, speakers describe the same phenomenon with phrases like "dropping a sound" rather than naming it. It is not pejorative — elision is a normal feature of natural speech in every language.
Easily confused with elision
Elision refers to the omission of sounds within spoken words, while ellipsis refers to the omission of words from a sentence or the punctuation mark (...) indicating omitted text.