- hyphen (n.)
- "short dash used to connect two words or separate one," 1620s, from Late Latin hyphen, from Greek hyphen "mark joining two syllables or words," probably indicating how they were to be said or sung. This was a noun use of an adverb meaning "together, in one," literally "under one," from hypo "under" (see sub-) + hen, neuter of heis "one," from PIE root *sem- (1) "one, as one" (see same (adj.)).
