APOSTROPHE

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). [F apostrophe or LL apostrophus f. Gk apostrophos accent of elision f. apostrepho turn away (as APO-, strepho turn)]