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-ˌlike, adjective
• ˈvowel-less, 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

It’s so hard to see those vowel-rich words, for some reason.

From Popular-Science

The time between the release and the vowel sound is the voice onset time.

From Science News For Students

Note that there’s no rule that says you can’t drop one single vowel and put that same vowel back one letter over.

From Washington Post

So for this contest — which of course is an arbitrary game and not a linguistic study — A, E, I, O and U will always be vowels.

From Washington Post

The most popular six-letter cheese in puzzles is ASIAGO, with its many vowels making it relatively easy to fit into a grid.

From The Daily Beast

Just pop the silicone lips into your mouth and repeat vowel sounds, according to directions, for a “more youthful, vibrant” face.

From The Daily Beast

These include traditional names with feminine qualities such as softer sounds and/or vowel endings: Joshua, Sebastian, Elijah.

From The Daily Beast

Here we see an au naturel Moore, bra-less in faded rock T-shirts and vowel-mangling California accent.

From The Daily Beast

Edelstein also urges you to “explore” certain vowel sounds, stress antitheses in the passages, and get into character (sometimes).

From The Daily Beast

These are the names of American politics in the 21st century—continent-hopping and vowel-heavy.

From The Daily Beast

The readings pleye, pley are evidently false; the scribe has omitted the stroke for n above the vowel.

From Project Gutenberg

Moreover, the rime is a false one, since swote and aboute have different vowel-sounds.

From Project Gutenberg

In the orthography of the Félibres the diagraph ue is used as we find it in Old French to represent this vowel.

From Project Gutenberg

It is to be noted here that the adverb has the vowel of the old feminine termination a, and not the modern o.

From Project Gutenberg

It seems best to follow the majority, especially as they allow suffice to be followed by a vowel, thus eliding the final e.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• articulate
• choral
• operatic
• verbal