Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Syncope"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Syncope \Syn"co*pe\, n. [L. syncope, syncopa, Gr. ? a cutting
up, a syncope; akin to ? to beat together, to cut up, cut
short, weavy; sy`n with + ? to strike, cut.]
1. (Gram.) An elision or retrenchment of one or more letters
or syllables from the middle of a word; as, ne'er for
never, ev'ry for every.
2. (Mus.) Same as {Syncopation}.
3. (Med.) A fainting, or swooning. See {Fainting}.
4. A pause or cessation; suspension. [R.]
Revely, and dance, and show, Suffer a syncope and
solemn pause. --Cowper.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
syncope
n 1: a spontaneous loss of consciousness caused by insufficient
blood to the brain [syn: {faint}, {swoon}]
2: the loss of sounds in the interior of a word (as in
`fo'c'sle' for `forecastle') [syn: {syncopation}]
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