syncopation

/ˌsɪŋ.kəˈpeɪ.ʃən/

sɪŋ · KƏPEꞮ · ʃən (3 syllables)

English Noun

Definition

The contraction of a word by means of loss or omission of sounds or syllables in the middle thereof.

Etymology

From syncopate + -ion. The phonological sense was first attested in English in the 1530's, the musical sense in the 1590's.