ăpostrŏphē, ēs, f., = ἀποστροφή (a turning away),
a rhetorical figure , when the speaker turns from the judges or his hearers , and addresses some other person or thing , an apostrophe , Quint. 9, 2, 38; 9, 3, 24; Mart. Cap. 5, p. 171 (e. g. Cic. Lig. 3 sq.; id. Verr. 2, 1, 9 al.).
·noun The contraction of a word by the omission of a letter or letters, which omission is marked by ...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language