hyphen

Etymology

From Late Latin, from Ancient Greek ὑφέν (huphén, “together”), contracted from ὑφ’ ἕν (huph’ hén, “under one”), from ὑπό (hupó, “under”) + ἕν (hén, “one”), neuter of εἷς (heîs, “one”).

noun

1. The symbol "‐", typically used to join two or more words to form a compound term, or to indicate that a word has been split at the end of a line.
   As the proud owner of my very own hyphen in a lovingly crafted surname, I have an especial soft spot for this most confusing of punctuation marks. 2021, Claire Cock-Starkey, Hyphens & Hashtags, Bodleian Library, page 56
2. (figurative) Something that links two more consequential things.
3. An enclosed walkway or passage that connects two buildings.
   The hyphens were added, joining the structures into one building, which now measures just over two hundred feet long. 1997, Peter Beney, The Majesty of Colonial Williamsburg, page 156
   Construction details for the hyphens, or "connecting wings" as they were called by the contractors, were included in the contractors' specifications, as follows: 2010, Mary L. Kwas, A Pictorial History of Arkansas's Old State House
   Those were the “hyphens,” the passageways that connected the wings of the mansion to its center. 2012, James M Cain, The Cocktail Waitress
4. Someone who belongs to a marginalized subgroup, and can therefore described by a hyphenated term, such as "German-American", "female-academic", etc.
   Tab has been kept on quite a number of members who rapturously applauded when that part of the message in which the hyphens were attacked was read by the President. 1916, The American Monthly - Volume 3, page 221
   Sign language interpreters fascinate me because their cultural space, "working the hyphens" as Michelle Fine (1994) would call it, and performing in the kind of hybrid third space that Homi Bhabha (1994) has written about resonates often with my own "hard-of-hearing" doubly hyphenated existence in both deaf and hearing worlds. 2004, Bonnie G. Smith, Beth Hutchison, Gendering Disability, page 61
   A leading Republican paper also had, on the eve of the convention, focused attention on this issue by remarking that Hughes was “designated by the Hyphens as their agent to punish Mr. Wilson for his partial refusal to comply with Potsdam orders. 2013, Kevin O’Keefe, A Thousand Deadlines

verb

1. (transitive, dated) To separate or punctuate with a hyphen; to hyphenate.

conj

1. Used to emphasize the coordinating function usually indicated by the punctuation "-".
   You are sitting at the wrong table, if I may be so bold, among the misguided who believe in the mass murder of mentalities, otherwise known as the liberal arts hyphen vocational training hyphen education. 1945, Robert Gessner, Youth is the time
   Ax was now a Hollywood hyphenated man. An actor hyphen director hyphen writer. 1950, Cleveland Amory, Home town
   He described himself as a poet-composer and actually said the word hyphen when he did so: "I'm a poet hyphen composer. 1983, Linda Crawford, Vanishing acts
   He is an actor (hyphen) writer (hyphen) director. In the fifth year of the series Alan Alda added another title to his growing list — that of creative consultant. 1983, David S. Reiss, M*A*S*H: the exclusive, inside story of TV's most popular show
   One reason he has avoided reading legal thrillers is that “they seem really to have been written by lawyer-hyphen-authors.” 2007, Stephen M. Murphy, What If Holden Caulfield Went to Law School?, page 65