syllabary

American  

[sil-uh-ber-ee] / ˈsɪl əˌbɛr i /

noun

plural

syllabaries

1. a list or catalog of syllables.

2. a set of written symbols, each of which represents a syllable, used to write a given language.

   the Japanese syllabary.

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syllabary British  

/ ˈsɪləbərɪ /

noun

1. a table or list of syllables

2. a set of symbols used in certain writing systems, such as one used for Japanese, in which each symbol represents a spoken syllable

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Etymology

Origin of syllabary

From the New Latin word syllabārium, dating back to 1580–90. See syllable, -ary

Example Sentences

She noticed Lucy at a Rock the Native Vote table talking to a woman with a stylized image of a muskrat on her T-shirt and some Cherokee syllabary.

From Literature

In the early 1800s Cherokee polymath Sequoyah invented the Cherokee syllabary of written characters.

From Scientific American

Hill placed a Cherokee syllabary character above each column to spread awareness of the lyrical language.

From New York Times

Each column has a letterpress piece with a Cherokee syllabary to spread awareness of the written language.

From New York Times

Bouabré became convinced they were the remains of an ancient writing system, and he wanted to use them as the basis for a new alphabet, or syllabary.

From Washington Post