Term for the dropping of an initial letter, as in "possum"

• (linguistics) omission at the beginning of a word as in `coon' for `raccoon' or `till' for `until'
• Loss of a sound at the start of a word, as "opossum" to "possum"
• Some are retained and the rest are returned to the donor by transfusion
• A procedure in which blood is drawn and separated into its components by dialysis

Wikipedia Word definitions in Wikipedia
In phonetics , apheresis (; ) is the loss of one or more sounds from the beginning of a word, especially the loss of an unstressed vowel, thus producing a new form called an aphetism .

Wiktionary Word definitions in Wiktionary
n. 1 (context linguistics prosody English) elision, suppression, or complete loss of a letter or sound (syllable) from the beginning of a word, such as the development of (term special) from (term especial); procope. 2 (context medicine specific still current ...

The Collaborative International Dictionary Word definitions in The Collaborative International Dictionary
Apheresis \A*pher"e*sis\ (?; 277), n. [L. aphaeresis, Gr. ?, fr. ? to take away; ? + ? to take.] (Gram.) The dropping of a letter or syllable from the beginning of a word; e. g., cute for acute. (Surg.) An operation by which any part is separated from the ...

WordNet Word definitions in WordNet
n. (linguistics) omission at the beginning of a word as in `coon' for `raccoon' or `till' for `until' [syn: aphaeresis ] a procedure in which blood is drawn and separated into its components by dialysis; some are retained and the rest are returned to the ...