Apothegm

The word is spelled apophthegm in Britain, but on both sides of the Atlantic it is pronounced A-po-them with the accent on the first SYLlable. It has a specialized meaning in mathematics. I do not know how it started, but math teachers pronounce it a-PO-them, as if they are naming an American marsupial and have a serious lisp. The word, in any meaning and in any English speaking country has the accent on the first syllable.

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