vowel Hear it!

vowel definition

vowel (vo̵u′əl)

noun

  1. any voiced speech sound characterized by generalized friction of the air passing in a continuous stream through the pharynx and opened mouth but with no constriction narrow enough to produce local friction; the sound of the greatest prominence in most syllables
  2. a letter (as a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y) or a character or a symbol representing such a sound
Cf. consonant

Etymology: ME vowelle < MFr vouel < L vocalis (littera), vocal (letter), vowel < vox, voice

adjective

of a vowel or vowels

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

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.