metaplasm
/ˈmɛtəˌplæzəm/
noun
- A change in a word's form by adding, removing, or rearranging letters or sounds, often for poetic or rhetorical effect.
- The editor noted that the metaplasm in the ancient text made the word unrecognizable at first.
- In some dialects, metaplasm appears when speakers drop the 'g' in 'running' to say 'runnin'.'
- The poet used metaplasm to shorten 'over' to 'o'er' in the line.