— metathetic /met'euh thet"ik/ , metathetical , adj.
/meuh tath"euh sis/ , n. , pl. metatheses /-seez'/ .
1. the transposition of letters, syllables, or sounds in a word, as in the pronunciation /kumf"teuhr beuhl/ for comfortable or /aks/ for ask.
2. Chem. See double decomposition .
[ 1600-10; metáthesis transposition. See META-, THESIS ]