Syllable

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈsɪ.lə.bəl/

Definitions

1. A unit of pronunciation consisting of a vowel sound with or without surrounding consonants that forms a single rhythmic beat in a spoken sequence
2. A sound unit in speech that is typically made up of a vowel, possibly accompanied by consonants, and serves to create a beat in verbal communication
3. A spoken segment that comprises a vowel sound alone or with consonants, contributing to the rhythm of language

Etymology: The Greek word "sullabē" literally meant something like "a taking together," and it was built from "sun-," meaning "together," and "lambanein," meaning "to take" or "to seize." Its earliest sense was the grasping of letters into a single unit, so a syllable was a cluster of sounds gathered up and held as one. The word passed into Latin as "syllaba," and from there into Old French as "sillabe," then into Anglo-Norman and Middle English, where it appeared in several spellings, including "sillable" and "syllabylle," before settling into its modern form. The path from a physical act of gathering to a term for the beats of speech is a short one: the Greeks heard a spoken word as a set of pieces held together, and the name stuck to each piece.

Synonyms: phonetic unit, beat