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vowels

vow·el
V v

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [vou-uh l]
    • /ˈvaʊ əl/
    • /vaʊəl/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [vou-uh l]
    • /ˈvaʊ əl/

Definitions of vowels word

  • noun vowels Phonetics. (in English articulation) a speech sound produced without occluding, diverting, or obstructing the flow of air from the lungs (opposed to consonant). (in a syllable) the sound of greatest sonority, as i in grill. Compare consonant (def 1b). (in linguistic function) a concept empirically determined as a phonological element in structural contrast with consonant, as the (ē) of be (bē), we (wē), and yeast (yēst). 1
  • noun vowels a letter representing or usually representing a vowel, as, in English, a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes w and y. 1
  • adjective vowels of or relating to a vowel. 1
See all 3 definitions of vowels

Information block about the term

Origin of vowels

First appearance:

before 1275
One of the 13% oldest English words
1275-1325; Middle English < Old French vowel < Latin vōcālis vocal

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Vowels

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Full grammatical hierarchy of Vowels

vowels popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 88% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

vowels usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Top questions with vowels

  • what are vowels?
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  • how many vowels in the alphabet?
  • what letters are vowels?
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  • what are short vowels?
  • how much do vowels cost on wheel of fortune?
  • what are vowels and consonants?
  • what are long vowels?
  • how many vowels are in the alphabet?
  • what are all the vowels?

Related words

  • full rhyme

    rhyme in which the stressed vowels and all following consonants and vowels are identical, but the consonants preceding the rhyming vowels are different, as in chain, brain; soul, pole.

  • barred i

    a high central vowel with phonetic quality approximating that of the vowels in pit, put, putt, or pet, and considered by most phonologists as a phonetic variant of one of these vowels, depending on the context, but by some as an autonomous phoneme in some varieties of English.

  • dieresis

    the separation of two adjacent vowels, dividing one syllable into two.

  • great vowel shift

    a series of changes in the quality of the long vowels between Middle and Modern English as a result of which all were raised, while the high vowels (ē) and (o̅o̅), already at the upper limit, underwent breaking to become the diphthongs (ī) and (ou).

  • synaeresis

    the contraction of two syllables or two vowels into one, especially the contraction of two vowels so as to form a diphthong.

  • vowel point

    any of a group of auxiliary symbols, as small lines and dots, placed above or below consonant symbols to indicate vowels in a writing system, as that of Hebrew or Arabic, in which vowels are otherwise not written.
All related words to vowels

See also

Matching words

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