The Hyphen

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception

Hyphen

[hahy-fuhn]

The hyphen is a short line used to connect the parts of a compound word. It may also be used to indicate a connection between the parts of a word that has been divided for other reasons like a line break. The term is derived from the Ancient Greek hypo + hen literally translated as "under one." Historically, the mark was used to unite words or syllables, most likely indicating the way phrases were meant to be sung by Greek and Roman bards. Hyphens are still used today in choral notation to indicate connected syllables.