Phoneme Definition
fōnēm
phonemes
noun
The smallest phonetic unit in a language that is capable of conveying a distinction in meaning, as the m of mat and the b of bat in English.
American Heritage
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”
Webster's New World
Synonyms:
- minimal distinctive unit of sound
- ceneme
- meaningful unit of sound
Other Word Forms of Phoneme
Noun
Singular:
phonemePlural:
phonemesOrigin of Phoneme
-
French phonème from Greek phōnēma phōnēmat- utterance, sound produced from phōnein to produce a sound from phōnē sound, voice bhā-2 in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
From Ancient Greek φώνημα (phōnÄ“ma), from φωνέω (phōneō), from φωνή (phōnÄ“).
From Wiktionary
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