APHERE'SIS, noun [Gr. from, and to take.] 1. The taking of a litter or syllable from the beginning of a word. Thus by an apheresis omittere is writter, mittere. 2. In the healing art, the removal of any thing noxious. In surgery, amputation.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI