Labialising

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Producing a sound in speech that includes rounding or pursing of the lips to modify the consonant or vowel
2. Altering pronunciation by using the lips to create a rounding effect on a sound
3. Changing a sound during speech by shaping the lips to make it more rounded or labial

Etymology: "Labialising" is the British spelling of "labializing," the present participle and gerund of "labialise," a verb meaning to make a speech sound with the lips rounded or otherwise shaped by the lips. The verb is built on "labial," which comes from Medieval Latin "labialis," derived from Latin "labium," meaning "lip." English "labial" appeared in the sense of relating to the lips, and the verb "labialise" follows the same pattern, with "-ise" as a verb-forming ending. The word's shape is a plain one: a noun root for the lip, an adjective ending, and a verb ending added to make an action. Writers of phonetics use the verb to describe how a consonant or vowel acquires lip rounding, as when the lips form a small opening for a sound such as the "w" in "wet."

Synonyms: lip-rounding, labializing

Antonyms: delabialising