| metathesis |
| Definition - The reordering of sounds within a word, especially as a process of language change. |
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Example - (1) flimsy was probably coined as a metathesis of film (2) crud from curd (3) third from the Old English thridda (4) horse from the Old English hros. |
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Etymology - The word ultimately derives from the Greek metathesis, change of position (from meta, to change + tithenai, to place or set). Note: The Greek term was coined by Dionysius of Halicarnassus, a first-century BCE Greek scholar who analyzed and modified texts to make them more eloquent. He called his editing methodology metathesis. |
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Oxford English Dictionary - Its first citation in this sense is from 1660: "Tahur, which is the Metathesis of Hurta, a thief." (Jer. Taylor Duct. Dubit. iv. i. rule 2 §36) |
