| dissimilation |
| Definition: A process of language change where similar consonantal sounds in a word become less similar over time. |
| Example:
(1) The word feeble derives from the Old French feible. This word was derived from the Latin flebilis; through dissimilation, the extra l was dropped. (2) Similarly, the turtle in turtledove was derived from the Latin turtur. |
| Oxford English Dictionary: The first OED citation for the word in this sense is from 1874: "Dissimilation … by which two identical sounds are made unlike, or two similar sounds are made to diverge." (Sweet, English Sounds, 13) |