apheresis

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English[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin aphaeresis, from Ancient Greek ἀφαίρεσις (aphaíresis, a taking away), from ἀφαιρέω (aphairéō) (from ἀφ- (aph-), variant of ἀπό (apó, off, away from) before an aspirated vowel) + αἱρέω (hairéō, to take; to snatch)) + -σις (-sis, suffix forming nouns of action); the grammatical sense developed in Latin.[1]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

apheresis (countable and uncountable, plural aphereses) (US, Canada)

  1. (phonetics, linguistics, prosody) Elision, suppression, or complete loss of a letter or sound (syllable) from the beginning of a word, such as the development of special from especial; procope.[1]
    Synonyms: pheresis, procope
    Hyponym: aphesis
    Coordinate terms: syncope, apocope, elision, clipping, abbreviation
  2. (medicine, specific, still current) The removal of blood from a patient, and the removal of certain components (such as platelets) from that blood, followed by the transfusion of the filtered blood back to the donor (patient).
    Synonyms: pheresis, hemapheresis
  3. (medicine, general, obsolete) Extirpation or extraction of a superfluity (especially a pathological one) from the body, especially blood.
    Hyponym: bloodletting

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References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 aphæresis” listed in the Oxford English Dictionary [2nd Ed.; 1989]

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