palatal Hear it!

palatal definition

pala·tal (palit'l)

adjective

  1. of the palate
  2. Phonet.
    1. articulated with the part of the tongue just behind the tip raised against or near the hard palate, as the consonants (y) in yes and (H) in German ich
    2. designating a stop, fricative, etc. whose point of articulation is on or near the hard or soft palate, as (c̸h, j, s̸h, z̸h)
    3. Rare front, as certain vowels

Etymology: Fr < L palatum, palate

noun

a palatal sound

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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