aphesis Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the gradual disappearance of an initial (usually unstressed) vowel or syllable as in `squire' for `esquire'

WordNet

Aph"e*sis noun
Etymology
Gr. a letting go; + to let go.
Definitions
  1. The loss of a short unaccented vowel at the beginning of a word; -- the result of a phonetic process; as, squire for esquire. New Eng. Dict.

Webster 1913