vowel
noun /ˈvaʊəl/
/ˈvaʊəl/
- (phonetics) a speech sound in which the mouth is open and the tongue is not touching the top of the mouth, the teeth, etc., so that the flow of air is not limited, for example /ɑː, e, ɔː/
- vowel sounds
- Each language has a different vowel system.
- This neutral vowel is known as ‘schwa’.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- long
- short
- open
- …
- begin with
- contain
- end in
- …
- sound
- length
- system
- …
- a letter that represents a vowel sound. In English the vowels are a, e, i, o and u.Topics Languagea2Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
- long
- short
- open
- …
- begin with
- contain
- end in
- …
- sound
- length
- system
- …
compare consonant see also diphthong
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French vouel, from Latin vocalis (littera) ‘vocal (letter)’.