Vowel
noun
1.
Phonetics.
(in English articulation) a speech sound produced without occluding, diverting, or obstructing the flow of air from the lungs (opposed to consonant).
(in a syllable) the sound of greatest sonority, as i in grill.
Compare consonant (def 1b).
(in linguistic function) a concept empirically determined as a phonological element in structural contrast with consonant, as the (ē) of be (bē), we (wē), and yeast (yēst).
2.
a letter representing or usually representing a vowel, as, in English, a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes w and y.
adjective
3.
of or relating to a vowel.
noun
1.
(phonetics) a voiced speech sound whose articulation is characterized by the absence of friction-causing obstruction in the vocal tract, allowing the breath stream free passage. The timbre of a vowel is chiefly determined by the position of the tongue and the lips
2.
a letter or character representing a vowel
Read Also:
- Vowel-fracture
noun, Phonology. 1. breaking1 . noun 1. Phonology. the change of a pure vowel to a diphthong, especially in certain environments, as, in Old English, the change of a vowel to a diphthong under the influence of a following consonant or combination of consonants, as the change of -a- to -ea- and of -e- to […]
- Vowel gradation
noun 1. another name for ablaut See gradation (sense 5)
- Vowel-harmony
noun, Linguistics. 1. a phonological rule in some languages, as Hungarian and Turkish, requiring that the vowels of a word all share a specified feature, such as front or back articulation, thereby conditioning the form that affixes may take, as in forming the Turkish plurals evler “houses” from ev “house” and adamlar “men” from adam […]
- Vowelize
verb (used with object), vowelized, vowelizing. 1. to provide (a Hebrew, Arabic, etc., text) with vowel points; vocalize. verb 1. (transitive) to mark the vowel points in (a Hebrew word or text) Also vocalize
- Vowel-mutation
noun 1. umlaut (def 2). 2. a vowel sound modified by umlaut. vowel mutation noun 1. another name for umlaut