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phonemic

[fuh-nee-mik, foh-]
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adjective
  1. of or relating to phonemes: a phonemic system.
  2. of or relating to phonemics.
  3. concerning or involving the discrimination of distinctive speech elements of a language: a phonemic contrast.
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Origin of phonemic

First recorded in 1930–35; phoneme + -ic
Related formspho·ne·mi·cal·ly, adverbnon·pho·ne·mic, adjectivenon·pho·ne·mi·cal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for phonemic

Historical Examples

  • There are no sharp linguistic divisions within this vast region, and phonemic shifts are gradual throughout its extent.

    Shoshone-Bannock Subsistence and Society

    Robert F. Murphy

British Dictionary definitions for phonemic

phonemic

adjective linguistics
  1. of or relating to the phoneme
  2. relating to or denoting speech sounds that belong to different phonemes rather than being allophonic variants of the same phonemeCompare phonetic (def. 2)
  3. of or relating to phonemics
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Derived Formsphonemically, adverb
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

Word Origin and History for phonemic

adj.

1933, from phoneme + -ic. Related: Phonemics (1936); phonemically.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper