vowel

[ vou-uhl ]

noun

1. Phonetics.
   1. (in English articulation) a speech sound produced without occluding, diverting, or obstructing the flow of air from the lungs ( consonant ).
   2. (in a syllable) the sound of greatest sonority, as i in grill. Compare consonant ( def 1b ).
   3. (in linguistic function) a concept empirically determined as a phonological element in structural contrast with consonant, as the (ē) of be (bē), we (wē), and yeast (yēst).
2. a letter representing or usually representing a vowel, as, in English, a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes w and y.

adjective

1. of or relating to a vowel.

vowel

/ ˈvaʊəl /

noun

1. phonetics a voiced speech sound whose articulation is characterized by the absence of friction-causing obstruction in the vocal tract, allowing the breath stream free passage. The timbre of a vowel is chiefly determined by the position of the tongue and the lips
2. a letter or character representing a vowel

Derived Forms

• ˈvowel-less, adjective
• ˈvowel-ˌlike, adjective

Other Words From

• vowel·less adjective
• vowel·like adjective
• vowel·y vowel·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of vowel¹

1275–1325; Middle English < Old French vowel < Latin vōcālis vocal

Word History and Origins

Origin of vowel¹

C14: from Old French vouel, from Latin vocālis littera a vowel, from vocālis sonorous, from vox a voice

Example Sentences

The paper concludes that the variations in whale codas may imply that they are being combined into complex phrases, making it possible to create thousands of individual words similar to the way human diphthongs bring individual vowel sounds like o and u together to make a word like “cloud.”

From Salon

Even the word, beginning and ending with similar vowel qualities, evinces monotony.

From Los Angeles Times

Phrases like “I’d like to buy a vowel” or “I’d like to solve” are synonymous with the show, as is Sajak’s style of an occasional quip to elicit laughs from the audience in between segments.

From Los Angeles Times

Long before memes, cultural cache was all about catchphrases, and “Wheel of Fortune” had a doozy: “Can I buy a vowel?” — which became a humorous way to convey confusion in general or to request more information of any kind.

From New York Times

Llama 2 70b, which answered correctly 10% of the time, mistook the letter K for a vowel and so answered incorrectly.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• articulate
• choral
• operatic
• verbal