schwa

[ shwah ]

noun

, Phonetics.

1. 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.
2. the phonetic symbol ə, used to represent this sound.

schwa

/ ʃwɑː /

noun

1. 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
2. the symbol ( ə ) used to represent this sound

Word History and Origins

Origin of schwa¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of schwa¹

C19: via German from Hebrew shewā, a diacritic indicating lack of a vowel sound