Definition of "apophony"

apophony

noun
countable and uncountable, plural apophonies
1. (phonetics) Modification of an internal vowel sound in a word or linguistic root, especially so as to establish a lexical distinction.
  Quotations
  Cinglar has the merit of referring to a back and forth movement, which one might suppose is suggested by the apophony of zinguizangue […]
  1986, David A. Pharies, Structure and Analogy in the Playful Lexicon of Spanish, page 171
  Apophony is also seen in talentum from τάλαντον [talanton] “talent, a unit of weight or currency.”
  2007 , R. G. G. Coleman, “Greek and Latin”, in A.-F. Christidis, editor, A History of Ancient Greek: From the Beginnings to Late Antiquity, page 793
  Apophony in both inflection and derivation has been shrinking through the history of English, but continues to be available in synesthesia (e.g. bing, bang, bong, §10.3.2) and, less productively, in reduplicative and conjunctive formations (e.g. mishmash, §14.4).
  2014, D. Gary Miller, English Lexicogenesis, page 9