n.
Pronunciation: ˌ si-n ə - ' z ē -s ə s
Function: noun
Etymology: Late Latin, from Greek syniz ē sis, from synizein to sit down together, collapse, blend, from syn- + hizein to sit down; akin to Latin sidere to sit down ― more at SUBSIDE
Date: 1846
: contraction of two syllables into one by uniting in pronunciation two adjacent vowels