dissimilation (dis i mil ash on)

[ Most of these a imilations and di imilations [in alphabetic form] may be traced to reasons of mere graphic convenience. Isaac Taylor, The Alphabet, L. 332. Specifically-(a) In philol., the change or substitution of a sound to or for another and a different sound when otherwise two similar sounds would come together or very close to each other, as in Latin alien us for * aliinus, Italian pelegrino from Latin peregrin us, English number (= German nummer ) from Latin numerus, etc. (b) In biol., catabolism (which see): opposed to a imilation.