vowel harmony

noun

, Linguistics.

1. a phonological rule in some languages, as Hungarian and Turkish, requiring that the vowels of a word all share a specified feature, such as front or back articulation, thereby conditioning the form that affixes may take, as in forming the Turkish plurals evler “houses” from ev “house” and adamlar “men” from adam “man.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of vowel harmony¹

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

Vowel-harmony and weakening of consonants occur as in Finnish.

From Project Gutenberg

Vowel-harmony is observed (vrok, “I await,” but verek, “I strike”).

From Project Gutenberg