ETYM Latin, from Greek, a turning away, to turn away; apo from + strephein to turn. French, from Latin apostrophus apostrophe, the turning away or omitting of a letter, Greek.
1. Address to an absent or imaginary person.
2. The mark (') used to indicate the omission of one or more letters from a printed word.
Addressing of a personified thing rhetorically.
Sign (') that a letter has been omitted, or of possessive case; Literature, exclamatory or rhetorical address to absent person, abstract quality, etc.
Mark (’) used in written English and some other languages. In English it serves primarily to indicate either a missing letter (mustn’t for must not) or number (’47 for 1947), or grammatical possession (“John’s camera”, “women’s dresses”). It is often omitted in proper names (Publishers Association, Actors Studio, Collins Dictionary). Many people otherwise competent in writing have great difficulty with the apostrophe, which has never been stable at any point in its history.

Chiefly British; quotation mark

(Homonym: tic).
1. A light mattress.
2. A metallic tapping sound; SYN. ticking.
3. Cover of a mattress or pillow.

ETYM Latin, from Greek, a turning away, to turn away; apo from + strephein to turn. French, from Latin apostrophus apostrophe, the turning away or omitting of a letter, Greek.
1. Address to an absent or imaginary person.
2. The mark (') used to indicate the omission of one or more letters from a printed word.
Addressing of a personified thing rhetorically.
Sign (') that a letter has been omitted, or of possessive case; Literature, exclamatory or rhetorical address to absent person, abstract quality, etc.
Mark (’) used in written English and some other languages. In English it serves primarily to indicate either a missing letter (mustn’t for must not) or number (’47 for 1947), or grammatical possession (“John’s camera”, “women’s dresses”). It is often omitted in proper names (Publishers Association, Actors Studio, Collins Dictionary). Many people otherwise competent in writing have great difficulty with the apostrophe, which has never been stable at any point in its history.

Of or characteristic of apostrophe.

Alternate (chiefly British) spelling of apostrophize.

(Alternate spelling: apostrophise).
To use an apostrophe.

Of or characteristic of apostrophe.