Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

syncopation

/ˌsɪŋ.kəˈpeɪ.ʃən/ noun

In Latin: syncopātiō First recorded: 1530 Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about syncopation at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

(phonology) the loss of sounds from within a word (as in `fo'c'sle' for `forecastle').
A musical rhythm accenting a normally weak beat.
Music (especially dance music) that has a syncopated rhythm.

Origin

From syncopate + -ion. The phonological sense was first attested in English in the 1530's, the musical sense in the 1590's.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word