English

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Late Latin metathesis, from Ancient Greek μετάθεσις (metáthesis), from μετά (metá, among) +‎ θέσις (thésis, placement).

Pronunciation

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  • (UK) IPA(key): /məˈtæ.θə.sɪs/
  • (US) IPA(key): /məˈtæ.θə.sɪs/, [məˈtʰæ.θə.səs], /mɛˈtæ.θə.sɪs/, [mɛˈtʰæ.θə.sɪs]
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)

Noun

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metathesis (countable and uncountable, plural metatheses)

  1. (phonetics, prosody) The transposition of letters, syllables or sounds within a word, such as in ask as /æks/.
    Hyponym: hyperthesis
  2. (inorganic chemistry) The double decomposition of inorganic salts.
  3. (organic chemistry) The breaking and reforming of double bonds in olefins in which substituent groups are swapped.

Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • Malay: metatesis

Translations

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The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

See also

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Further reading

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Anagrams

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