vowel
English
/ˈvaʊ.əl/, /vaʊl/
noun
Definitions
- (phonetics) A sound produced by the vocal cords with relatively little restriction of the oral cavity, forming the prominent sound of a syllable.
- (orthography) A letter representing the sound of vowel; in English, the vowels are a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y.
Etymology
Derived from Old French vouel derived from Latin vōcālis (voiced, having a voice, speaking, vocal).
Origin
Latin
vōcālis
Gloss
voiced, having a voice, speaking, vocal
Timeline
Distribution of cognates by language
Geogrpahic distribution of cognates
Cognates and derived terms
- lax English
- lax vowel English
- semivowel English
- tense English
- tense vowel English
- vocal English
- vowelhood English
- vowelise English
- vowelish English
- vowelism English
- vowelize English
- vowelled English
- vowelless English
- vowellessness English
- vowelling English
- vowelly English
- vocalitas Latin
- vocaliter Latin
- vōcālis Latin
- vocaal Dutch, Flemish
- voyelle French
- vocal Spanish, Castilian
- vocal Portuguese
- vogal Portuguese
- vocal Old French
- vouel Old French
- voyeul Old French
- vocal Catalan, Valencian
- vouoyelle Norman
- vocalis Middle High German
- vocal Asturian
- vocâl Friulian