The sources of English apostrophe imply that the word would have been pronounced with three syllables, but pronunciation with four syllables, copying apostrophe entry 2, was general by at least the time of the Oxford English Dictionary, first edition (1885). Send us feedback about these examples.īorrowed from French & Late Latin French, borrowed from Late Latin apostrophus, apostrophos 'mark placed above a consonant to indicate that a following vowel has been deleted,' borrowed from Greek apóstrophos (feminine noun, presumably shortened from the collocation apóstrophos prosōidía, with prosōidía in sense 'accent mark'), from apóstrophos, adjective, 'turned away, averted,' derivative of apostréphein 'to turn back, turn away' - more at apostrophe entry 2 These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'apostrophe.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Karen Rosenberg, New York Times, 22 Nov. 2023 But focus instead on that apostrophe in the title: This is Hopper’s New York, emphasis on the possessive, and for all its crowd-pleasing fare this is a more challenging show about his dominion over the city. 2023 The award show that has taught generations of children where the apostrophe should go on a word that ends in S also bestowed blimps on Harry Styles, BTS, and Megan Thee Stallion. 2022 That gerund possessive calls for the apostrophe: Beijing’s further expanding…. Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Apr. 2023 There is no apostrophe in Veterans Day. 2023 Some signs had the apostrophe before that final S. Kelly O'sullivan, Country Living, 30 Jan. 2022 Drink like your name has an apostrophe in it.

Noun Allowing for all that, about 14 states appear to refer to the holiday as President's Day (note the apostrophe before the letter s).

What do apostrophes mean