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phoneme definition

pho·neme (fō′nēm′)

noun

Linguis. a set of phonetically similar but slightly differing sounds in a language that are heard as the same sound by native speakers and are represented in phonemic transcription by the same symbol in English, the phoneme /p/ includes the phonetically differentiated sounds represented by p in “pin,” “spin,” and “tip”

Etymology: Fr phonème < Gr phōnēma, a sound < phōnein, to sound < phōnē, a voice: see phono-

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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