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Syllable - 7 dictionary results

syl⋅la⋅ble

  [sil-uh-buhl] noun, verb, -bled, -bling.
Use Syllable in a Sentence
–noun
1. an uninterrupted segment of speech consisting of a center of relatively great sonority with or without one or more accompanying sounds of relatively less sonority: “Man,” “eye,” “strength,” and “sixths” are English words of one syllable.
2. one or more written letters or characters representing more or less exactly such an element of speech.
3. the slightest portion or amount of speech or writing; the least mention: Do not breathe a syllable of all this.
–verb (used with object)
4. to utter in syllables; articulate.
5. to represent by syllables.
–verb (used without object)
6. to utter syllables; speak.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME sillable < AF; MF sillabe < L syllaba < Gk syllab, equiv. to syl- syl- + lab- (base of lambánein to take) + -ē n. suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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syl·la·ble   (sĭl'ə-bəl)   
n.  
    1. A unit of spoken language consisting of a single uninterrupted sound formed by a vowel, diphthong, or syllabic consonant alone, or by any of these sounds preceded, followed, or surrounded by one or more consonants.
    2. One or more letters or phonetic symbols written or printed to approximate a spoken syllable.
  2. The slightest bit of spoken or written expression: Do not alter a syllable of this message.
tr.v.   syl·la·bled, syl·la·bling, syl·la·bles
To pronounce in syllables.

[Middle English sillable, from Anglo-Norman, alteration of Old French sillabe, from Latin syllaba, from Greek sullabē, from sullabein, second aorist of sullambanein, to combine in pronunciation : sun-, syn- + lambanein, to take.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Syllable

Syl"la*ble\, n. [OE. sillable, OF. sillabe, F. syllabe, L. syllaba, Gr. ? that which is held together, several letters taken together so as to form one sound, a syllable, fr. ? to take together; ? with + ? to take; cf. Skr. labh, rabh. Cf. Lemma, Dilemma.]

1. An elementary sound, or a combination of elementary sounds, uttered together, or with a single effort or impulse of the voice, and constituting a word or a part of a word. In other terms, it is a vowel or a diphtong, either by itself or flanked by one or more consonants, the whole produced by a single impulse or utterance. One of the liquids, l, m, n, may fill the place of a vowel in a syllable. Adjoining syllables in a word or phrase need not to be marked off by a pause, but only by such an abatement and renewal, or re["e]nforcement, of the stress as to give the feeling of separate impulses. See Guide to Pronunciation, [sect]275.

2. In writing and printing, a part of a word, separated from the rest, and capable of being pronounced by a single impulse of the voice. It may or may not correspond to a syllable in the spoken language.

Withouten vice [i. e. mistake] of syllable or letter. --Chaucer.

3. A small part of a sentence or discourse; anything concise or short; a particle.

Before any syllable of the law of God was written. --Hooker.

Who dare speak One syllable against him? --Shak.

Syllable

Syl"la*ble\, v. t. To pronounce the syllables of; to utter; to articulate. --Milton.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : Syllable
Spanish: sílaba,
German: die Silbe,
Japanese: 音節
More Translations »

syllable

A basic unit of speech generally containing only one vowel sound. The word basic contains two syllables (ba-sic). The word generally contains four (gen-er-al-ly). (See hyphen.)

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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syllable 
c.1384, from Anglo-Fr. sillable, from O.Fr. sillabe, from L. syllaba, from Gk. syllabe "a syllable, several sounds or letters taken together," lit. "a taking together," from syn- "together" + stem of lambanein "to take" (see analemma). The extra -l- was added by analogy with participle and principle.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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syllable

see words of one syllable.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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