n.
Pronunciation: ə - ' päs-tr ə -( ˌ )f ē
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin, from Greek apostroph ē , literally, act of turning away, from apostrephein to turn away, from apo- + strephein to turn
Date: 1533
: the addressing of a usually absent person or a usually personified thing rhetorically <Carlyle's “ O Liberty, what things are done in thy name! ” is an example of apostrophe >
– ap · os · troph · ic \ ˌ a-p ə - ' strä-fik \ adjective