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minimal pair

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minimal pair

–noun Linguistics.
a pair of words, as pin and bin, or bet and bed, differing only by one sound in the same position in each word, esp. when such a pair is taken as evidence for the existence of a phonemic contrast between the two sounds.

Origin:
1940–45
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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