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schwa
[ shwah ]
/ ʃwɑ /
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noun Phonetics.
the mid-central, neutral vowel sound typically occurring in unstressed syllables in English, however spelled, as the sound of a in alone and sofa, of e in system, of i in easily, of o in gallop, and of u in circus.
the phonetic symbol ə, used to represent this sound.
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Sometimes shwa .
Origin of schwa
First recorded in 1890–95; from German, from Hebrew shəwā, literally, “nothingness, emptiness, vanity,” and the name of a diacritic marking schwa or no vowel
Words nearby schwa
Schutzstaffel, Schuyler, Schuylerville, Schuylkill, schvartze, schwa, Schwaben, schwag, Schwann, Schwann cell, Schwärmerei
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022
British Dictionary definitions for schwa
schwa
shwa
/ (ʃwɑː) /
noun
a central vowel represented in the International Phonetic Alphabet by (ə). The sound occurs in unstressed syllables in English, as in around, mother, and sofa
the symbol (ə) used to represent this sound
Word Origin for schwa
C19: via German from Hebrew shewā, a diacritic indicating lack of a vowel sound
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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