apostrophe

Where does the word "apostrophe" come from? It comes from Greek apostrophos, passing through Late Latin and French before entering English (1580s).

Apostrophe’s story begins in Greek: apostrophos meant “omission mark.” 'turned away', i.e. the mark for a letter that has been left out. By ancient, the word had taken hold in Late Latin as apostrophus. Used by Roman grammarians. From there it passed into French as apostrophe by 1500s. Printers made the mark standard in French typography. It reached English by 1580s as apostrophe. Its use for the possessive, as in 'the king's', became standard only in the 1700s. Today, apostrophe means the punctuation mark ' used for omitted letters or possession.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient apostrophos "omission mark", 'turned away', i.e. the mark for a letter that has been left out.
2. Stage 2 · Late Latin · ancient apostrophus "apostrophe", used by Roman grammarians.
3. Stage 3 · French · 1500s apostrophe "apostrophe", printers made the mark standard in French typography.
4. Stage 4 · English · 1580s apostrophe "apostrophe", its use for the possessive, as in 'the king's', became standard only in the 1700s.