syllabary
Americannoun
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a list or catalog of syllables.
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a set of written symbols, each of which represents a syllable, used to write a given language.
the Japanese syllabary.
noun
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a table or list of syllables
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a set of symbols used in certain writing systems, such as one used for Japanese, in which each symbol represents a spoken syllable
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of syllabary
From the New Latin word syllabārium, dating back to 1580–90. See syllable, -ary
Vocabulary lists containing syllabary
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the early 1800s Cherokee polymath Sequoyah invented the Cherokee syllabary of written characters.
From Scientific American • Apr. 10, 2023
He published the syllabary in 1958, and made use of it in handwritten manuscripts both anthropological and spiritual.
From New York Times • Mar. 31, 2022
Or, going back to the beginning of this chapter and Sequoyah’s syllabary, you may choose to take inspiration from something linguistic, an expression or a way of talking that is associated with your culture.
From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021
This year, the Braves sold T-shirts with a word that translated roughly to “ballplayer” in Cherokee syllabary; the proceeds supported the tribe’s language immersion program.
From Washington Post • Oct. 28, 2021
Linear B, the writing of Mycenaean Greece, was at least simpler, being based on a syllabary of about 90 signs plus logograms.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
