Syn`co*pa"tion (?), n.
1. Gram.
The act of syncopating; the contraction of a word by taking one or more letters or syllables from the middle; syncope.
2. Mus.
The act of syncopating; a peculiar figure of rhythm, or rhythmical alteration, which consists in welding into one tone the second half of one beat with the first half of the beat which follows.
© Webster 1913.