hyphen

Meaning

Noun

1. The 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.
2. (figuratively) Something which links two things of greater significance than itself.
3. (figuratively) Something which links two things of greater significance than itself.
4. Someone who belongs to a marginalized subgroup, and can therefore described by a hyphenated term, such as "German-American", "female-academic", etc.

Verb

To separate or punctuate with a hyphen; to hyphenate.

Conj

Used to emphasize the coordinating function usually indicated by the punctuation "-".

Synonyms

dash

💨

hyphenate

division

backslash

slash

n-dash

intra-word dash

Translations

trait d’union

guión

Bindestrich

trattino

lineetta

💨

hífen

tiret

💨

ενωτικό

guió

verbindingsstreepje

trait d'union

guionet

koppelteken

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈhaɪ.fən/

Etymology

From Late Latin, from Ancient Greek ὑφέν (huphén, “together”), contracted from ὑφ’ ἕν (huph’ hén, “under one”), from ὑπό (hupó, “under”) + ἕν (hén, “one”), neuter of εἷς (heîs, “one”).