Apostrophises

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To employ an apostrophe in written communication to denote possession or omission of letters
2. To express or address an absent or imaginary person or entity through a literary rhetorical device
3. To convey a direct message to someone not present, often for dramatic effect or emphasis

Etymology: "Apostrophises" is the third-person singular form of "apostrophise", meaning to address someone who is absent, or something not present, as if they could hear. The verb is built from "apostrophe", the rhetorical device of turning away from the audience to speak directly to a person or thing that is not there, combined with the suffix "-ise", which turns a noun into a verb meaning to treat or make into the thing named. That noun has a longer road than its look suggests. "Apostrophe" came from Greek "apostrophē", literally a turning away, and the rhetorical sense grew from that physical gesture of the speaker turning from the crowd. The suffix "-ise" has its own chain: it passed from Ancient Greek "-ízein" through Late Latin "-izāre" and Old French "-iser" into Middle English, where it became the regular way to form verbs such as "civilise" or "criticise", and from there it was attached to "apostrophe" to make the verb used here.