phoneme

pho·neme

noun \ˈfō-ˌnēm\

Definition of PHONEME

: any of the abstract units of the phonetic system of a language that correspond to a set of similar speech sounds (as the velar \k\ of cool and the palatal \k\ of keel) which are perceived to be a single distinctive sound in the language

Examples of PHONEME

1. The sounds represented by “c” and “b” are different phonemes, as in the words “cat” and “bat.”

Origin of PHONEME

French phonème, from Greek phōnēmat-, phōnēma speech sound, utterance, from phōnein to sound

First Known Use: 1896

Other Grammar and Linguistics Terms

ablaut, allusion, anacoluthon, diacritic, gerund, idiom, infinitive, metaphor, semiotics, simile

Rhymes with PHONEME

abeam, agleam, airstream, berseem, beseem, bireme, blaspheme, bloodstream, centime, coal seam, cold cream, crossbeam, daydream, downstream, dream team, drill team, egg cream, esteem, extreme, French seam, grapheme, Gulf Stream, hakim, headstream, high beam, hornbeam, I beam, ice cream, inseam, jet stream, kilim, lexeme, live steam, low beam, mainstream, midstream, millime, millstream, moonbeam, morpheme, onstream, pipe dream, redeem, regime, rhyme scheme, sealed-beam, sememe, sidestream, slipstream, sour cream, sunbeam, supreme, tag team, Tarim, third-stream, toneme, trireme, unseam, upstream, warp beam, wet dream

pho·neme

noun \ˈfō-ˌnēm\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of PHONEME

: a member of the set of the smallest units of speech that serve to distinguish one utterance from another in a language or dialect <the \p\ of English pat and the \f\ of English fat are two different phonemes>

—pho·ne·mic \fə-ˈnē-mik, fō-\ adjective

—pho·ne·mi·cal·ly \-mi-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

phoneme

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Smallest unit of speech distinguishing one word (or word element) from another (e.g., the sound p in tap, which differentiates that word from tab and tag). The term is usually restricted to vowels and consonants, but some linguists include differences of pitch, stress, and rhythm. A phoneme may have variants, called allophones, that differ phonetically without affecting meaning. Phonemes may be recorded with special symbols, such as those of the International Phonetic Alphabet. In transcription, linguists conventionally place symbols for phonemes between slash marks: /p/.