phonotactics

[ foh-nuh-tak-tiks ]

/ ˌfoʊ nəˈtæk tɪks /

noun (used with a singular verb) Linguistics.

the patterns in which the phonemes of a language may combine to form sequences.

the study and description of such patterns.

Nearby words

phonoreception, phonoreceptor, phonorenogram, phonoscope, phonotactic, phonotactics, phonotype, phonotypy, phony, phony disease, phony war

Origin of phonotactics

First recorded in 1955–60; see origin at phonotactic, -ics

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for phonotactics

phonotactics

/ (ˈfəʊnəʊˌtæktɪks) /

noun

(functioning as singular) linguistics the study of the possible arrangement of the sounds of a language in the words of that language

Word Origin for phonotactics

C20: from phono- + -tactics, on the model of syntactic; see syntax

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