1. n. a punctuation mark used to indicate:
1. the omission of letters or numbers (e.g. can't; he's; 1 Jan. '92).
2 the possessive case (e.g. Harry's book; boys' coats).
Etymology: F apostrophe or LL apostrophus f. Gk apostrophos accent of elision f. apostrepho turn away (as APO-, strepho turn) 2. n. an exclamatory passage in a speech or poem, addressed to a person (often dead or absent) or thing (often personified).
Derivatives:
apostrophize v.tr. & intr. (also -ise).
Etymology: L f. Gk, lit. 'turning away' (as APOSTROPHE(1))