Syncope

In the study of language the words syncope – pronounced with the stress on the first syllable, IPA: /‘sɪŋ kə pɪ/ - and syncopation refer to a figure of speech which consists in the "contraction of a word by omission of one or more syllables or letters in the middle." (OED).

Syncope may occur for different reasons, such as

for convenience or ease of diction - especially likely with auxiliary verbs or other very frequently used words, e.g., ‘I’d rather not’ for ‘I (woul)d rather not’, ‘He can’t come’ for ‘He can(no)t come’; or ‘ I don’t want it’ for ‘I do n(o)t want it’;

for poetic effect or (in poetry) to meet the requirements of the metre, e.g., ‘o’er’ for ‘o(v)er’; ‘e’er’ for ‘e(v)er’; ‘ow’st’ for ‘ow(e)st’;

through carelessness or slovenliness of diction, e.g., ‘rest’rant’ for ‘rest(au)rant’; ‘p’lce’ for ‘p(o)lice’; ‘fam’ly’ for ‘fam(i)ly’ – though it may be debated whether the syncope which occurs for this reason should be regarded as a figure of speech.

As these examples illustrate, the omitted letters are usually replaced by an apostrophe.

Syncope or syncopation is used with quite different meanings in two other disciplines:

In medicine syncope is a technical term for what in everyday speech would be referred to as fainting, i.e., the temporary loss of consciousness brought about by a drop in the supply of blood to the brain.

In music syncopation is the shifting of the usual rhythmic accent away from a strong beat onto a weak beat. It has been aptly described as ‘rhythmic contradiction’ or ‘playing off the beat’.

Etymological note: Syncope is a transliteration of the Greek word συγκοπή (sunkopē), meaning ‘cutting up into small pieces’, but also used by Greek grammarians with the same meaning as its English descendant.