ə̇ˈpen(t)thəsə̇s, eˈp- noun
( plural epenthe·ses -əˌsēz)
Etymology: Late Latin, from Greek, from epentithenai to insert a letter, from epi- + entithenai to put in, from en- en- (II) + tithenai to put, place — more at do
1. : the occurrence of an intercalated consonant (as a homorganic stop after a nasal consonant) or vowel in a succession of speech sounds without a counterpart in etymon or in orthography (as t in ˈfents fence; ə in ˈathəˌlēt athlete )
2. : an insertion of a letter in a word to make spelling conform to epenthetic pronunciation (as b in nimble, earlier nimel ) — compare anaptyxis