| schwa |
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noun
- An indeterminate central vowel sound as the "a" in "about" or the "e" in "the", represented as � in IPA and @ in SAMPA and X-SAMPA.
- The letter �, an upside-down lower-case E, used to represent such a sound.
| | | secondary |
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adjective
- Succeeding next in order to the first; of second place, origin, rank, rank, etc.; not primary; subordinate; not of the first order or rate.
- Acting by deputation or delegated authority; as, the work of secondary hands.
- Possessing some quality, or having been subject to some operation (as substitution), in the second degree; as, a secondary salt, a secondary amine, etc. Cf. primary.
- (geology) Subsequent in origin; -- said of minerals produced by alteertion or deposition subsequent to the formation of the original rocks mass; also of characters of minerals (as secondary cleavage, etc.) developed by pressure or other causes.
- (zootomy) Pertaining to the second joint of the wing of a bird.
- (medicine) Dependent or consequent upon another disease; as, Bright's disease is often secondary to scarlet fever. (b) Occuring in the second stage of a disease; as, the secondary symptoms of syphilis.
| | semivowel |
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noun (semivowels)
- A sound in speech which has some qualities of a consonant and some qualities of a vowel
- A letter which represents a semivowel sound, such as w or y in English.
| | shortening |
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noun
- (cooking) fat such as butter, lard or hydrogenated vegetable oil used to make shortcrust pastry.
- verbal noun form of shorten.
verb
- (present participle of, shorten)
| | shut |
|
verb (shuts, shutting, shut, shut)
- (transitive) To close, to stop from being open.
- The light was so bright I had to my eyes.
- (intransitive) To close, to stop being open.
- If you wait too long, the automatic door will .
- (context, transitive or intransitive, Commonwealth) To close a business temporarily, or (of a business) to be closed.
- The pharmacy is on Sunday.
| | sibilant |
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noun
- A hissing sound such as the 's' or 'sh' in 'sash' or 'surge'.
adjective
- Characterized by a hissing sound such as the 's' or 'sh' in 'sash' or 'surge'.
| | | smooth |
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adjective (smoother, smoothest)
- Having a texture that lacks friction. Not rough.
- 2005, w:Plato, Plato, Sophist. Translation by Lesley Brown. w:Stephanus pagination, 229e.
- : Teaching that's done by talking seems to have one rough path and another part which is smoother.
- Without difficulty, problems, or unexpected consequences or incidents.
- We hope for a transition to the new system.
| | sonant |
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adjective - Of or pertaining to sound; sounding.
- (linguistics) voiced
| | sonorant |
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noun (plural: sonorants)
- (phonetics) a speech sound that is produced without turbulent airflow in the vocal tract; the generic term of vowel, approximant, nasal consonant, etc.
| | speak |
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noun
- language, jargon, or terminology used uniquely in a particular environment or group.
- Corporate speak; IT speak
verb (speaks or archaic, speaketh, speaking, spoke or archaic, spake, spoken)
- (intransitive) To communicate with one's voice, to say words out loud.
- I was so surprised I couldn't .
- You're speaking too fast.
- (intransitive) To have a conversation.
- It's been ages since we've spoken.
- (context, by extension) To communicate or converse by some means other than orally, such as writing or facial expressions.
- He spoke of it in his diary
- Speak to me only with your eyes.
- I just spoke with them on IRC.
- Actions louder than words.
- (intransitive) To deliver a message to a group; to deliver a speech.
- This evening I shall on the topic of correct English usage.
- (transitive) To be able to communicate in a language.
- I was so surprised that I couldn't a word.
- He speaks Mandarin fluently.
| | spirant |
|
noun (wikipedia, Fricative consonant)
- (context, linguistics, archaic) A fricative.
- 1888: w:Joseph Wright (linguist), Joseph Wright, An Old High German Primer
- :s was a voicless in all positions like the s in English sit
- 1954: w:J. R. R. Tolkien, J. R. R. Tolkien, w:The Lord of the Rings, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix E.
- :The raising of the stem indicated the opening of the consonant to a ""
| | spread |
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noun
- The act of spreading or something that has been spread.
- An expanse of land.
- A piece of material used as a cover (such as a bedspread).
- A large meal, especially one laid out on a table.
- Any form of food designed to be spread onto a slice of bread etc.
- An item in a newspaper or magazine that occupies more than one column or page.
- A numerical difference.
verb (spreads, spreading, spread)
- (transitive) To put one"s legs apart.
- (transitive) To divide something in a homogeneous way.
- (transitive) To scatter.
- (transitive) To put butter or jam onto bread.
- (transitive) To expand.
- Missionaries spread their religion's teachings.
- (intransitive) To expand.
- The disease had spread into remote villages.
| | strengthen |
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verb
- (transitive) To make strong or stronger; to add strength to; to increase the strenght of; as, to strengthen a limb, a bridge, an army; to strengthen an obligation; to strengthen authority; to fortify; to reinforce.
- (transitive) To animate; to give moral strength; to encourage; to fix in resolution; to hearten.
- (transitive) To augment; to improve; to intensify.
- (intransitive) To grow strong or stronger.
| | stress |
|
noun (es, -)
- (context, countable, physics) The internal distribution of force per unit area (pressure) within a body reacting to applied forces which causes strain or deformation and is typically symbolised by �
- (context, countable, physics) externally applied to a body which cause internal stress within the body.
- (uncountable) Emotional pressure suffered by a human being or other animal.
- (context, uncountable, phonetics) The emphasis placed on a syllable of a word.
- Some people put the on the first syllable of "controversy"; others put it on the second.
- (uncountable) Emphasis placed on words in speaking.
- (uncountable) Emphasis placed on a particular point in an argument or discussion (whether spoken or written).
verb (stresses, stressing, stressed)
- To apply force to (a body or structure) causing strain.
- To apply emotional pressure to (a person or animal).
- To emphasise (a syllable of a word).
- "Emphasis" is stressed on the first syllable, but "emphatic" is stressed on the second.
- To emphasise (words in speaking).
- To emphasise (a point) in an argument or discussion.
- I must that this information is given in strict confidence.
| | strong |
|
adjective
- capable of produce, producing great physical force.
- a man
- capable of withstanding great physical force
- a foundation
- determined, unyielding
- He is in the face of adversity.
- highly stimulating to the senses
- a light
- a taste
- having an offensive or intense odor or flavor
- a smell
- having a high concentration of an essential or active ingredient
- a cup of coffee
- a medicine
- having a high alcoholic content
- a drink
- (grammar) irregular
- a verb
- (military) not easily subdued or taken
- a position
- (slang) impressive, good
- You"re working with troubled youth in your off time? That"s !
adverb
- in a strong manner
| | suction stop |
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noun
- (linguistics) A voice stop in the formation of which air behind the articulation is rarefied with consequent inrush of air when articulation is broken.
| | surd |
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noun (plural surds)
- (arithmetic) An irrational number, especially one expressed using the � symbol.
- (linguistics) A voiceless consonant.
| | syllabicate |
|
verb to syllabicate
- to syllabify
| | syllabify |
|
verb (syllabifies, syllabifying, syllabified)
- To divide a word into syllables; to syllabicate
| | syllable |
|
noun
- (linguistics) a unit of human speech that is interpreted by the listener as a single sound, although syllables usually consist of one or more vowel sounds, either alone or combined with the sound of one or more consonants. A word consists of one or more syllables.
- (grammar) the letters that represent a syllable
| | synaeresis |
|
noun
- (linguistics) the contraction of two vowels into a diphthong or a long vowel.
- An example of is the contraction of the -ew ((IPA, /u�/)) and or- ((IPA, /o�ɹ/)) of w:New Orleans, New Orleans into (IPA, /n��l�nz/).
- (chemistry) the separating out of the liquid from a gel.
| | | syncopation |
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noun - Use of rhythmic units or patterns which do not confirm the pulses on a metric level. (DeLone? et. al. (Eds.), 1975, chap. 3) (rfc, music definition needs rewritten because the current one is copyrighted)
| | syncope |
|
noun
- A loss of consciousness when someone faints, a swoon.
- 1973: the rapidly-whitening face, the miserable fixed smile, meant a within the next few bars. " Patrick O'Brian, HMS Surprise
- A way of making a word shorter by leaving out sounds or letters in the middle of it, for example by changing cannot to can't.
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