See Also: semivowel(dictionary)

semivowel (iou)



semivowel noun. M16.
[from SEMI- + VOWEL, after Latin semivocalis (see SEMIVOCAL).]
Phonetics. A speech sound partaking in various ways of the nature of both a vowel and a consonant; now esp. a sound which functions as a consonant in that it occurs at the margins of a syllable but which lacks the phonetic characteristics usu. associated with a consonant such as friction and closure, as English [w], [j]. Also, a letter of the alphabet representing this sound.