shwa

[ shwah ]

/ ʃwɑ /

noun

Nearby words

shuttle diplomacy, shuttlecock, shuttlecraft, shvartze, shvernik, shwa, shwe-shwe, shy, shy away from, shy-drager syndrome, shylock

Definition for shwa (2 of 2)

schwa

or shwa

[ shwah ]

/ ʃwɑ /

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, e in system, i in easily, o in gallop, u in circus.

the phonetic symbol ə, used to represent this sound.

Origin of schwa

1890–95; < German < Hebrew shəwā, name of a diacritic marking schwa or no vowel

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

British Dictionary definitions for shwa (1 of 2)

shwa

/ (ʃwɑː) /

noun

a variant spelling of schwa

British Dictionary definitions for shwa (2 of 2)

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 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for shwa

schwa

1895, from German Schwa, ultimately from Hebrew shewa "a neutral vowel quality," literally "emptiness."