| haplography |
| Definition: The accidental omission of a repeated letter (or letters) when making a written copy of a text. Note: It is the opposite of dittography, the accidental repetition of letters or words when making a written copy of a text. |
| Example: Writing omision instead of omission
Note: To omit a final period in a sentence that ends with an abbreviation is an example of conventional haplography (i.e., haplography that isn't considered an error). |
| Etymology: The term derives from the Greek haplos, simple or single + graphos, writing. |
| Oxford English Dictionary: Its first citation is from 1888: "Haplography or Lipography … is a special and very common case of omission." (J. Gow Comp. Classics 55) |