A·pōs'tro·phe, n.

n. [Lat. apostrophe, Gr. ἀποστροφή, a turning away; from ἀποστρέφειν, to turn away, from ἀπό, and στρέφειν, to turn; στροφή, a turning.] 1. (Gram.) (a.) The contraction of a word by the omission of a letter or letters, which omission is marked by a comma placed above the line; as, call’d for called. (b.) The mark used to denote that a word is contracted. 2. (Rhet.) A turning away from the real auditory, and addressing an absent or imaginary one.