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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
vow·el    Audio Help   [vou-uhl] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.Phonetics.
a.(in English articulation) a speech sound produced without occluding, diverting, or obstructing the flow of air from the lungs (opposed to consonant).
b.(in a syllable) the sound of greatest sonority, as i in grill. Compare consonant (def. 1b).
c.(in linguistic function) a concept empirically determined as a phonological element in structural contrast with consonant, as the (é) of be (bé), we (wé), and yeast (yést).
2.a letter representing or usually representing a vowel, as, in English, a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes w and y.
–adjective
3.of or pertaining to a vowel.

[Origin: 1275–1325; ME < OF vowel < L vōcālis vocal]

vow·el·less, adjective
vow·el·like, adjective
vow·el·y, vow·el·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
vowel

To learn more about vowel visit Britannica.com

© 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
vow·el    Audio Help   (vou'əl)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. A speech sound, such as (ē) or (ĭ), created by the relatively free passage of breath through the larynx and oral cavity, usually forming the most prominent and central sound of a syllable.
  2. A letter, such as a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y in the English alphabet, that represents a vowel.


[Middle English vowelle, from Old French vouel, from Latin (littera) vōcālis, sounding (letter), from vōx, vōc-, voice; see wekw- in Indo-European roots.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
vowel 
c.1308, from O.Fr. vouel, from L. vocalis, in littera vocalis, lit. "vocal letter," from vox (gen. vocis) "voice" (see voice). Vowel shift in ref. to the pronunciation change between M.E. and Mod.Eng. is attested from 1909. The Hawaiian word hooiaioia, meaning "certified," has the most consecutive vowels of any word in current human speech; the English record-holder is queueing.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
vowel

noun
1. a speech sound made with the vocal tract open [ant: consonant
2. a letter of the alphabet standing for a spoken vowel 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
vowel1 [ˈvauəl] noun
in English and many other languages, the letters a, e, i, o, u
Arabic: صائِت، حَرْف عِلَّه
Chinese (Simplified): 元音字母
Chinese (Traditional): 元音字母
Czech: samohláska
Danish: vokal
Dutch: klinker
Estonian: vokaal
Finnish: vokaali
French: voyelle
German: der Vokal
Greek: φωνήεν
Hungarian: magánhangzó
Icelandic: sérhljóði
Indonesian: huruf hidup
Italian: vocale
Japanese: 母音字
Korean: 모음자
Latvian: patskaņa burts
Lithuanian: balsė
Norwegian: vokal
Polish: samogłoska
Portuguese (Brazil): vogal
Portuguese (Portugal): vogal
Romanian: vocală
Russian: гласная буква
Slovak: samohláska
Slovenian: samoglasnik
Spanish: vocal
Swedish: vokal
Turkish: ünlü
vowel2 [ˈvauəl] noun
(also vowel sound) any of the sounds represented by these five letters or by y, or by combination of these with each other and/or w
Arabic: حَرْف صَوْتي
Chinese (Simplified): 元音
Chinese (Traditional): 元音
Czech: samohláska
Danish: vokallyd
Dutch: klinker
Estonian: vokaalhäälik
Finnish: vokaali
French: voyelle
German: der Selbstlaut, Vokal-…
Greek: φωνήεν
Hungarian: magánhangzó
Icelandic: sérhljóð
Indonesian: suara hidup
Italian: vocale
Japanese: 母音
Korean: 모음
Latvian: patskanis
Lithuanian: balsis
Norwegian: vokal(lyd)
Polish: samogłoska
Portuguese (Brazil): vogal
Portuguese (Portugal): vogal
Romanian: vo­cală
Russian: гласный звук
Slovak: samohláska
Slovenian: samoglasnik
Spanish: vocal
Swedish: vokalljud
Turkish: ünlüler
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Vowel

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.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Vowel

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.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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