Definitions for vowelˈvaʊ əl

ADVERTISEMENT

Random House Webster's College Dictionary

vow•elˈvaʊ əl(n.)

  1. a speech sound, as (ē), (oo), or (a), produced without occluding, diverting, or obstructing the flow of air from the lungs, and usu. constituting the sound of greatest sonority in a syllable

    Category: Phonetics

    Ref: (opposed to consonant 1 1 ).

  2. a letter or other symbol representing a vowel sound, as, in English, a, e, i, o, u and sometimes y or

    w.

    Category: Phonetics, Language/Linguistics

Origin of vowel:

1275–1325; < OF vouel < L vocālisvocal

Princeton's WordNet

  1. vowel, vowel sound(noun)

    a speech sound made with the vocal tract open

  2. vowel(noun)

    a letter of the alphabet standing for a spoken vowel

Kernerman English Learner's Dictionary

  1. vowel(noun)ˈvaʊ əl

    in English, the letters 'a', 'e', 'i', 'o', 'u', or the sounds made by these

Wiktionary

  1. vowel(Noun)

    A sound produced by the vocal cords with relatively little restriction of the oral cavity, forming the prominent sound of a syllable.

  2. vowel(Noun)

    A letter representing the sound of vowel; in English, the vowels are a, e, i, o and u, and sometimes y.

  3. Origin: From vouel (French: voyelle), from vocalis.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Vowel(noun)

    a vocal, or sometimes a whispered, sound modified by resonance in the oral passage, the peculiar resonance in each case giving to each several vowel its distinctive character or quality as a sound of speech; -- distinguished from a consonant in that the latter, whether made with or without vocality, derives its character in every case from some kind of obstructive action by the mouth organs. Also, a letter or character which represents such a sound. See Guide to Pronunciation, // 5, 146-149

  2. Vowel(adj)

    of or pertaining to a vowel; vocal


Translations for vowel

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary

vowel(noun)

in English and many other languages, the letters a, e, i, o, u.

Get even more translations for vowel »


Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"vowel." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2013. Web. 19 May 2013. <http://www.definitions.net/definition/vowel>.


The Web's Largest Resource for

Definitions & Translations


A Member Of The STANDS4 Network


Nearby & related entries:

Alternative searches for vowel: