Definition of Hyphen

1. Verb. Divide or connect with a hyphen. "Hyphenate these words and names"

Exact synonyms: Hyphenate
Generic synonyms: Spell, Write
Derivative terms: Hyphenation, Hyphenation

2. Noun. A punctuation mark (-) used between parts of a compound word or between the syllables of a word when the word is divided at the end of a line of text.
Exact synonyms: Dash
Generic synonyms: Punctuation, Punctuation Mark
Derivative terms: Hyphenate

Definition of Hyphen

1. n. A mark or short dash, thus [-], placed at the end of a line which terminates with a syllable of a word, the remainder of which is carried to the next line; or between the parts of many a compound word; as in fine- leaved, clear-headed. It is also sometimes used to separate the syllables of words.

2. v. t. To connect with, or separate by, a hyphen, as two words or the parts of a word.

Definition of Hyphen

1. Noun. Symbol "-", typically used to join two or more words to form a compound term, or to indicate that a word has been split at the end of a line. ¹

2. Noun. (figuratively) Something that links two more consequential things. ¹

3. Verb. (transitive dated) To separate or punctuate with a hyphen; to hyphenate. ¹

4. Proper noun. (colloquial) (non-gloss definition Used to refer to a person with a hyphenated name) ¹

5. Conjunction. (non-gloss definition Used to emphasize the coordinating function usually indicated by the punctuation "-"). ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Hyphen

1. to connect words or syllables with a hyphen (a mark of punctuation) [v -ED, -ING, -S] : HYPHENIC [adj]

Lexicographical Neighbors of Hyphen

hyperæsthetic
hyperæsthetical
hypes
hypester
hypesters
hypesthesia
hypethral
hypha
hyphae
hyphaema
hyphal
hyphedonia
hyphema
hyphemia
hyphemias
hyphen (current term)
hyphen-minus
hyphen-minuses
hyphenate
hyphenated
hyphenated compound
hyphenated compounds
hyphenates
hyphenating
hyphenation
hyphenations
hyphenator
hyphenators
hyphened
hyphenic

Literary usage of Hyphen

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Horace Howard Furness (1903)
"{from the usual sense of disease by a hyphen, and dis- is not found so separated in the Folio in ... The verb disease, without a hyphen, occurs in Corto/. ..."

2. Mechanically Inclined: Building Grammar, Usage, and Style Into Writer's Workshop by Jeff Anderson (2005)
"It's a hyphen. The hyphen, a wee thing, is the shortest of the family. —John Trimble, Writing with Style That's right, the hyphen is shorter than the ..."

3. The Grammar of English Grammars: With an Introduction, Historical and by Goold Brown (1858)
"'"Some settled rulo for tho uso oí' the hyphen on these occasions,, is much wanted. Mo Jura printers have a. fining.! predilection for it; ..."

4. Business English by Edwin Herbert Lewis (1911)
"CHAPTER THE MASTERY OF THE hyphen. § 36. 1. There is still great difference of opinion as to what words should be written separately, what with a hyphen, ..."

5. English Grammar: The English Language in Its Elements and Forms ; with a by William Chauncey Fowler (1855)
"When the latter loses or alters its accent, the hyphen should be inserted ; as, "Ship-builder.'1'' When two substantives are in apposition, and either of ..."

6. Handbook of Composition: A Compendium of Rules Regarding Good English by Edwin Campbell Woolley (1907)
"In dividing a word at the end of a line (see Rules At the 263-266, below), place a hyphen after the first element of the word, and there only; ..."

7. Punctuation, and Other Typographical Matters: For the Use of Printers by Marshall Train Bigelow (1895)
"I. THE hyphen. 1. The hyphen is used between compound words which have not by ... The hyphen is frequently used where a prefix ending with a vowel is united ..."

8. The Writing of English by John Matthews Manly, Edith Rickert (1920)
"The hyphen 118. When you are in doubt as to where a word should be divided, ... The hyphen may be used at the end of a line: (1) Between parts of a compound ..."

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