In phonology, apocope (/ əˈpɒkəpi / [1][2]) is the loss (elision) of a word-final vowel. In a broader sense, the term can refer to the loss of any final sound (including consonants) from a word. [3] Academic linguists term the resultant word-form (following the operation of apocope) an apocopation.

Elision, aphaeresis, syncope, and apocope: All are losses of sounds. Elision is the loss of unstressed sounds, aphaeresis the loss of initial sounds, syncope is the loss of medial sounds, and apocope is the loss of final sounds.

Syncope is the removal or omission of a letter or syllable from the interior of a word; procope (apheresis) at the beginning of a word, and apocope at the end of a word. Technically, "elision" refers to the omission of letters or syllables between words.

In phonology, epenthesis (/ ɪˈpɛnθəsɪs, ɛ -/; Greek ἐπένθεσις) means the addition of one or more sounds to a word, especially in the beginning syllable (prothesis) or in the ending syllable (paragoge) or in-between two syllabic sounds in a word. The opposite process, where one or more sounds are removed, is referred to as elision. Etymology.

In phonetics and phonology, elision is the omission of a sound (a phoneme) in speech. Elision is common in casual conversation. More specifically, elision may refer to the omission of an unstressed vowel, consonant, or syllable. This omission is often indicated in print by an apostrophe.