View synonyms for glottal

glottal

[ glot-l ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

adjective

glottal

/ ˈɡlɒtəl /

Origin of glottal¹

First recorded in 1840–50; glott(is) + -al ¹

In standard English the h is a glottal continuant only when there is precise and emphatic utterance.

The glottal lips open partly by yielding sidewise,—that is, they are compressed,—and partly by being shoved upward and outward.

The backward apostrophe probably represents the glottal stop; the simple apostrophe may indicate the same sound.

The glottal lips vibrate differently for the different vowels.

The language was rich in glottal stops, clicks and guttural strangling sounds.

April 24, 2024gallimaufry

[gal-uh-maw-free ]

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