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nonsense syllable

American  

noun

Psychology.

  1. any of numerous letter combinations without meaning, used in learning experiments.

nonsense syllable British  

noun

  1. psychol a syllable, like bik, having no meaning. Lists of such syllables have been used to investigate memory and learning

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of nonsense syllable

First recorded in 1885–90

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.