Library / English Dictionary

PALATAL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A semivowel produced with the tongue near the palate (like the initial sound in the English word 'yeast')

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("palatal" is a kind of...):

glide; semivowel (a vowellike sound that serves as a consonant)

Derivation:

palatal (produced with the front of the tongue near or touching the hard palate (as 'y') or with the blade of the tongue near the hard palate (as 'ch' in 'chin' or 'j' in 'gin'))

 II. (adjective) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Produced with the front of the tongue near or touching the hard palate (as 'y') or with the blade of the tongue near the hard palate (as 'ch' in 'chin' or 'j' in 'gin')

Synonyms:

palatal; palatalised; palatalized

Classified under:

Adjectives

Similar:

soft ((of speech sounds); produced with the back of the tongue raised toward the hard palate; characterized by a hissing or hushing sound (as 's' and 'sh'))

Derivation:

palatal (a semivowel produced with the tongue near the palate (like the initial sound in the English word 'yeast'))

Sense 2

Meaning:

Relating to or lying near the palate

Example:

the palatine tonsils

Synonyms:

palatal; palatine

Classified under:

Relational adjectives (pertainyms)

Pertainym:

palate (the upper surface of the mouth that separates the oral and nasal cavities)

Derivation:

palate (the upper surface of the mouth that separates the oral and nasal cavities)

Credits