enclitic

noun

en·​clit·​ic en-ˈkli-tik 

plural enclitics

: a clitic that is associated with a preceding word : a word that is treated in pronunciation as forming a part of a preceding word and that is often unaccented or contracted

Enclitics are almost always part of a contraction. "You'll," "we've," "they're" and "don't" all have enclitics. The words that precede the enclitics stand on their own, but the enclitics themselves depend on their host words.

—Curtis Honeycutt

Note: Enclitics are often heard in speech. They are frequently transcribed into print as contractions, such as the ll for will in you'll or the re for are in they're.

compare proclitic

enclitic adjective

Word History

Etymology

Late Latin encliticus, from Greek enklitikos, from enklinesthai to lean on, from en- + klinein to lean — more at lean

First Known Use

circa 1663, in the meaning defined above