Main Entry: ¹apos·tro·phe

Pronunciation: \ə-ˈpäs-trə-(ˌ)fē\

Function: noun

Etymology: Latin, from Greek apostrophē, literally, act of turning away, from apostrephein to turn away, from apo- + strephein to turn

Date: 1533

: the addressing of a usually absent person or a usually personified thing rhetorically <Carlyle's “O Liberty, what things are done in thy name!” is an example of apostrophe>

— ap·os·troph·ic \ˌa-pə-ˈsträ-fik\ adjective