retroflex Hear it!

retroflex definition

retro·flex (re′trə fleks′)

adjective

  1. bent or turned backward
  2. Phonet. articulated with the tip of the tongue raised and bent slightly backward toward the hard palate
Also retroflexed ret′ro·flexed′

Etymology: L retroflexus, pp. of retroflectere: see retro- & flex

noun

Phonet. a retroflex sound

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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