coarticulation

[ koh-ahr-tik-yuh-ley-shuhn ]

noun

, Phonetics.

1. concomitance of articulation, as in fro, ostensibly a succession of three discrete sounds but physically a single articulation (f-) blending into a coarticulation (-fr-), which blends into an articulation (-r-), which blends into a coarticulation (-ro-), which blends into an articulation (-o).
2. Also called sec·ond·ar·y ar·tic·u·la·tion [sek, -, uh, n-der-ee ahr-tik-y, uh, -, ley, -sh, uh, n]. the movement during the articulation of a given sound of one or more articulators not directly involved in producing the sound.

Word History and Origins

Origin of coarticulation¹

First recorded in 1605–15; co- + articulation