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 元音。 与consonant相对 ■a letter representing such a sound, such asa, e, i, o, u 元音字母
派生 vowelled adjective
(美 voweled)
vowelless adjective vowelly adjective 语源
Middle English: from Old French vouel, from Latin vocalis (littera) 'vocal (letter')