syllabification

tavuttaminen the division of a word into syllables.
1764 September, Tobias George Smollett ed., The Critical Review: or, Annals of Literature, volume 18, article 23: “Review of William Johnſton’s A Pronouncing and Spelling Dictionary, &c.”, http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=X8APAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA237&dq=%2Bsyllabification&hl=en&ei=9mQETsXnN4_RsgbVoIyvDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC4Q6AEwAAv=onepage&q=%2Bsyllabification&f=false page 237

Our author has eſtabliſhed clear practicable rules for articulation, and conſequently for facilitating to foreigners the pronouncing and ſyllabification of the Engliſh language; and that upon principles which are in common to all languages.

syllabize &c. A verb & a noun are clearly sometimes needed for the notion of dividing words into syllables. The possible pairs seem to be the following (the number after each word means — 1, that it is in fairly common use; 2, that it is on record; 3, that it is not given in OED): —  syllabate 3    syllabation 2 syllabicate 2    syllabication 1 syllabify 2      syllabification 1 syllabize 1     syllabization 3One first-class verb, two first-class nouns, but neither of those nouns belonging to that verb. It is absurd enough, & any of several ways out would do; that indeed is why none of them is taken. The best thing would be to accept the most recognized verb syllabize, give it the now non-existent noun syllabization, & relegate all the rest to the Superfluous words; but there is no authority both willing & able to issue such decrees.

Syllábify is a back-formation from syllabification, which in turn seems to be coined directly on the basis of Latin syllabificare.