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schwa
[ shwah ]
noun
, Phonetics.
- the mid-central, neutral vowel sound typically occurring in unstressed syllables in English, however spelled, as the sound of a in alone and sofa, of e in system, of i in easily, of o in gallop, and of u in circus.
- the phonetic symbol ə, used to represent this sound.
schwa
/ ʃwɑː /
noun
- a central vowel represented in the International Phonetic Alphabet by ( ə ). The sound occurs in unstressed syllables in English, as in around, mother, and sofa
- the symbol ( ə ) used to represent this sound
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Word History and Origins
Origin of schwa1
First recorded in 1890–95; from German, from Hebrew shəwā, literally, “nothingness, emptiness, vanity,” and the name of a diacritic marking schwa or no vowel
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Word History and Origins
Origin of schwa1
C19: via German from Hebrew shewā, a diacritic indicating lack of a vowel sound
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