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Vocal - 7 dictionary results
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vo⋅cal

  [voh-kuhl]
Use Vocal in a Sentence
–adjective
1. of, pertaining to, or uttered with the voice: the vocal mechanism; vocal criticism.
2. rendered by or intended for singing: vocal music.
3. having a voice: A dog is a vocal, but not a verbal, being.
4. giving forth sound with or as with a voice.
5. inclined to express oneself in words, esp. copiously or insistently: a vocal advocate of reform.
6. Phonetics.
a. vocalic (def. 1).
b. voiced.
–noun
7. a vocal sound.
8. a musical piece for a singer, usually with instrumental accompaniment. Compare instrumental (def. 6).
Origin:
1350–1400; ME < L vōcālis, equiv. to vōc- (s. of vōx) voice + -ālis -al 1

Related forms:
vo⋅cal⋅i⋅ty  [voh-kal-i-tee] , vo⋅cal⋅ness, noun
vo⋅cal⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
5. vociferous, outspoken.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Vocal
vo·cal   (vō'kəl)   
adj.  
  1. Of or relating to the voice: the vertebrate vocal organs; a vocal defect.
  2. Uttered or produced by the voice.
  3. Having a voice; capable of emitting sound or speech.
  4. Full of voices; resounding: a playground vocal with the shouts and laughter of children.
  5. Tending to express oneself often or freely; outspoken: a vocal critic of city politics.
  6. Linguistics
    1. Of or resembling vowels; vocalic.
    2. Voiced.
  7. Music Of, relating to, or performed by singing: vocal training; vocal music.
n.  
  1. A vocal sound.
  2. Music A popular composition for a singer, often with instrumental accompaniment.

[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin vōcālis, from vōx, vōc-, voice; see wekw- in Indo-European roots.]
vo'cal·ly adv., vo'cal·ness n.
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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Vocal

Vo"cal\, a. [L. vocalis, fr. vox, vocis, voice: cf. F. vocal. See Voice, and cf. Vowel.]

1. Of or pertaining to the voice or speech; having voice; endowed with utterance; full of voice, or voices.

To hill or valley, fountain, or fresh shade, Made vocal by my song. --Milton.

2. Uttered or modulated by the voice; oral; as, vocal melody; vocal prayer. "Vocal worship." --Milton.

3. Of or pertaining to a vowel or voice sound; also, ?poken with tone, intonation, and resonance; sonant; sonorous; -- said of certain articulate sounds.

4. (Phon.) (a) Consisting of, or characterized by, voice, or tone produced in the larynx, which may be modified, either by resonance, as in the case of the vowels, or by obstructive action, as in certain consonants, such as v, l, etc., or by both, as in the nasals m, n, ng; sonant; intonated; voiced. See Voice, and Vowel, also Guide to Pronunciation, [sect][sect] 199-202. (b) Of or pertaining to a vowel; having the character of a vowel; vowel.

Vocal cords or chords. (Anat.) See Larynx, and the Note under Voice, n., 1.

Vocal fremitus [L. fremitus a dull roaring or murmuring] (Med.), the perceptible vibration of the chest wall, produced by the transmission of the sonorous vibrations during the act of using the voice.

Vocal music, music made by the voice, in distinction from instrumental music; hence, music or tunes set to words, to be performed by the human voice.

Vocal tube (Anat.), the part of the air passages above the inferior ligaments of the larynx, including the passages through the nose and mouth.

Vocal

Vo"cal\, n. [Cf. F. vocal, LL. vocalis.]

1. (Phon.) A vocal sound; specifically, a purely vocal element of speech, unmodified except by resonance; a vowel or a diphthong; a tonic element; a tonic; -- distinguished from a subvocal, and a nonvocal.

2. (R. C. Ch.) A man who has a right to vote in certain elections.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : Vocal
Spanish: vocal,
German: Vokal-…,
Japanese: 声の
More Translations »

vocal  (adj.)
c.1395, "spoken, oral," from O.Fr. vocal, from L. vocalis "sounding, sonorous, speaking," as a noun, "a vowel," from vox (gen. vocis) "voice" (see voice). In ref. to music (as opposed to instrumental), first recorded 1586; meaning "outspoken" first attested 1871. The verb vocalize is attested from 1669.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: vo·cal
Pronunciation: 'vO-k&l
Function: adjective
1 : uttered by the voice : ORAL
2 : having or exercising the power of producing voice, speech, or sound
3 : of,relating to, or resembling the voice <vocal dysfunction due to throat infection> —vo·cal·i·ty /vO-'kal-&t-E/ noun plural -ties
—vo·cal·ly /'vO-k&-lE/ adverb
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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vocal vo·cal (vō'kəl)
adj.

  1. Of or relating to the voice.
  2. Capable of emitting sound or speech.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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