delabialization

[dee-ley-bee-uh-luh-zey-shuhn]

noun

Phonetics.

1. the result or process of delabializing.

2. the historical progression in which labial sounds delabialize, as the kw- sound in Latin words starting with quin- “five” becoming a k- sound as in Spanish quince “fifteen.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of delabialization¹

1905–10; de- + labialization ( def. )