vowel

vowel
\ \ [14] A vowel is etymologically a ‘vocal’ sound – that is, one made by vibrating the vocal chords. The word comes via Old French vouel from Latin vōcālis. This was short for littera vōcālisvocal letter, letter that sounds’, sonus vōcālisvocal sound’, etc. Vōcālis (source of English vocal) was derived from vōxvoice’ (source of English voice).
\ \ Cf.VOICE

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Vowel — Vow el, n. [F. voyelle, or an OF. form without y, L. vocalis (sc. littera), from vocalis sounding, from vox, vocis, a voice, sound. See {Vocal}.] (Phon.) A vocal, or sometimes a whispered, sound modified by resonance in the oral passage, the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • vowel — [vou′əl] n. [ME vowelle < MFr vouel < L vocalis (littera), vocal (letter), vowel < vox,VOICE] 1. any voiced speech sound characterized by generalized friction of the air passing in a continuous stream through the pharynx and opened mouth …   English World dictionary

  • Vowel — Vow el, a. Of or pertaining to a vowel; vocal. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • vowel — (n.) c.1300, from O.Fr. vouel, from L. vocalis, in littera vocalis, lit. vocal letter, from vox (gen. vocis) voice (see VOICE (Cf. voice)). Vowel shift in reference to the pronunciation change between Middle and Modern English is attested from… …   Etymology dictionary

  • vowel — ► NOUN 1) a speech sound in which the mouth is open and the tongue is not touching the top of the mouth, the teeth, or the lips. 2) a letter representing such a sound, such as a, e, i, o, u. ORIGIN Old French vouel, from Latin vocalis littera… …   English terms dictionary

  • Vowel — In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! IPA| [ɑː] or oh! IPA| [oʊ] , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants …   Wikipedia

  • vowel — vowelless, adj. vowellike, adj. vowely, vowelly, adv. /vow euhl/, n. 1. Phonet. a. (in English articulation) a speech sound produced without occluding, diverting, or obstructing the flow of air from the lungs (opposed to consonant). b. (in a… …   Universalium

  • vowel — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ long, short ▪ open, rounded ▪ back, front ▪ weak ▪ …   Collocations dictionary

  • vowel — Synonyms and related words: accented, allophone, alveolar, apical, apico alveolar, apico dental, articulated, articulation, aspiration, assimilated, assimilation, back, barytone, bilabial, broad, cacuminal, central, cerebral, check, checked,… …   Moby Thesaurus

  • vowel — I (Roget s IV) n. Syn. vocoid, open voiced sound, vowel sound, glide, diphthong, digraph; see also consonant , letter 1 . Linguistic terms for vowel sounds include: high, mid, low, open, close, front, back, central, flat, rounded, unrounded,… …   English dictionary for students

  • vowel — [[t]va͟ʊəl[/t]] vowels N COUNT A vowel is a sound such as the ones represented in writing by the letters a , e i , o and u , which you pronounce with your mouth open, allowing the air to flow through it. Compare consonant. The vowel in words like …   English dictionary

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