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
Noun Inflected 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.
See Examples For:
In the early 1800s Cherokee polymath Sequoyah invented the Cherokee syllabary of written characters.
From Scientific American ● Apr. 10, 2023
With a collaborator, Rozin devised an experimental curriculum that moved children through degrees of linguistic abstraction by teaching them Chinese logographs followed by a Japanese syllabary, and only then applying the same logic to English.
From New York Times ● Dec. 27, 2021
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
Only one motif looks out of place: the name “Maiku,” rendered in a phonetic Japanese syllabary.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 28, 2018
Sequoyah’s syllabary is widely admired by professional linguists for its good fit to Cherokee sounds, and for the ease with which it can be learned.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
In addition, Japanese papers use flashy modern trappings such as airplanes, walkie-talkies and monotypes that can set some 2,200 Japanese syllabaries and Chinese ideographs.
From Time Magazine Archive
Thus, the developmental sequence of uses for alphabetic writing was the reverse of that for the earlier systems of logograms and syllabaries.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Some syllabaries persist today, the most important being the kana syllabary that the Japanese use for telegrams, bank statements, and texts for blind readers.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Most such tailor-made systems modify existing alphabets, though some instead design syllabaries.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Literature, Ashurbanabal's library, 132; syllabaries, 135; religious l.,
From The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria by Jastrow, Morris
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.
