DEFINITIONS:
→ noun
a basic speech sound in which the breath is at least partly obstructed and which can be combined with a vowel to form a syllable. Contrasted with vowel.
• a letter representing a consonant.
→ adjective
1. [attrib.] denoting or relating to a consonant: a consonant phoneme.
2. (consonant with) in agreement or harmony with: the findings are consonant with other research.
• (Music) making a harmonious interval or chord: the bass is consonant with all the upper notes.
- DERIVATIVES consonantal adjective consonantly adverb .
- ORIGIN Middle English (in the sense ‘letter representing a consonant’): via Old French from Latin consonare ‘sound together’, from con- ‘with’ + sonare ‘to sound’ (from sonus ‘sound’).
→ noun
a speech sound which is produced by comparatively open configuration of the vocal tract, with vibration of the vocal cords but without audible friction, and which is a unit of the sound system of a language that forms the nucleus of a syllable. Contrasted with consonant.
• a letter representing a vowel sound, such as a, e, i, o, u.
- DERIVATIVES vowelled ( (US) voweled ) adjective [usu. in combination] vowelless adjective vowelly adjective .
- ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French vouel, from Latin vocalis (littera) ‘vocal (letter)’.
→ noun
a sound formed by the combination of two vowels in a single syllable, in which the sound begins as one vowel and moves towards another (as in coin, loud, and side). Often contrasted with monophthong, triphthong.
• a digraph representing the sound of a diphthong or single vowel (as in feat). • a compound vowel character; a ligature (such as æ).
- DERIVATIVES diphthongal
- ORIGIN late Middle English: from French diphtongue, via late Latin from Greek diphthongos, from di- ‘twice’ + phthongos ‘voice, sound’.
Pronunciation of “kestrel”: ['kestrəl]
The main definition of “philology”: the branch of knowledge that deals with the structure, historical development, and relationships of a language or languages.
Etimology of “Crow”: