Emph

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A shortened form of the word emphasis, used in informal writing, notes, or markup to mark stress or importance
2. An informal abbreviation meaning emphasis, often seen in notes, comments, or formatting instructions to flag stressed text
3. A short written form standing for emphasis, the stress placed on a word or idea to give it extra weight

Etymology: "Emphasis" comes from ancient Greek "emphasis," a noun formed from "emphainein," meaning "to show forth" or "to indicate." That verb combines "en," meaning "in," with "phainein," meaning "to show" or "to bring to light." The original sense was closer to display or appearance than to the forceful stress we now associate with it. Latin writers took the Greek term into rhetoric, where it described a way of making a meaning stand out beyond what the words literally said. "Emph" is a clipped form of that longer word, a shortening of "emphasis" used when space is tight. It keeps the Greek idea of showing something forth, although the showing is now done by italics, bold type, or the speaker's voice.