Syncope

syncope
    n 1: a spontaneous loss of consciousness caused by insufficient
         blood to the brain [syn: {faint}, {swoon}, {syncope},
         {deliquium}]
    2: (phonology) the loss of sounds from within a word (as in
       `fo'c'sle' for `forecastle') [syn: {syncope}, {syncopation}]
    

Syncope \Syn"co*pe\, n. [L. syncope, syncopa, Gr. ? a cutting
   up, a syncope; akin to ? to beat together, to cut up, cut
   short, weavy; sy`n with + ? to strike, cut.]
   1. (Gram.) An elision or retrenchment of one or more letters
      or syllables from the middle of a word; as, ne'er for
      never, ev'ry for every.
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   2. (Mus.) Same as {Syncopation}.
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   3. (Med.) A fainting, or swooning. See {Fainting}.
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   4. A pause or cessation; suspension. [R.]
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            Revely, and dance, and show,
            Suffer a syncope and solemn pause.    --Cowper.
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77 Moby Thesaurus words for "syncope":
      KO, abbreviation, abridgment, abstract, andante tempo, apocope,
      aposiopesis, beat, blackout, catalepsy, catatonia, catatony,
      clipping, coma, compound time, compression, condensation,
      conspectus, contraction, crasis, curtailment, cutting, duple time,
      elision, ellipsis, epitome, faint, foreshortening, grayout, kayo,
      knockout, largo, lipothymia, lipothymy, march tempo, mixed times,
      nirvana, nirvana principle, nothingness, oblivion, obliviousness,
      precis, presto, pruning, rag, ragtime, recap, recapitulation,
      reduction, retrenchment, rubato, semiconsciousness, senselessness,
      sextuple time, shortening, simple time, sleep, stupor, summary,
      summation, swoon, syncopation, syneresis, synopsis, telescoping,
      tempo, tempo rubato, three-quarter time, time, time pattern,
      timing, triple time, triplet, truncation, two-four time,
      unconsciousness, waltz time