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glottal

[glot-l]
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adjective
  1. of or relating to the glottis.
  2. Phonetics. articulated at the glottis.
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noun
  1. glottal stop.
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Origin of glottal

First recorded in 1840–50; glott(is) + -al1
Related formssub·glot·tal, adjectivesub·glot·tal·ly, adverbsu·per·glot·tal, adjectivesu·per·glot·tal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for glottal

Historical Examples

  • The language was rich in glottal stops, clicks and guttural strangling sounds.

    Planet of the Damned

    Harry Harrison

  • In standard English the h is a glottal continuant only when there is precise and emphatic utterance.

  • The glottal lips open partly by yielding sidewise,—that is, they are compressed,—and partly by being shoved upward and outward.

  • The backward apostrophe probably represents the glottal stop; the simple apostrophe may indicate the same sound.

  • The glottal lips vibrate differently for the different vowels.

British Dictionary definitions for glottal

glottal

adjective
  1. of or relating to the glottis
  2. phonetics articulated or pronounced at or with the glottis
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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 glottal

adj.

1846; see glottis + -al (1). Glossal is attested from 1860.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
glottal in Medicine

glottal

(glŏt′l)
adj.
  1. Of or relating to the glottis.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.