Main Entry:

pho·nol·o·gy

Pronunciation:

\fə-ˈnä-lə-jē, fō-\

Function:

noun

Date:

1799

1 : the science of speech sounds including especially the history and theory of sound changes in a language or in two or more related languages 2 : the phonetics and phonemics of a language at a particular time

— pho·no·log·i·cal \ˌfō-nə-ˈlä-ji-kəl also ˌfä-\ also pho·no·log·ic \-jik\ adjective

— pho·no·log·i·cal·ly \-ji-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

— pho·nol·o·gist \fə-ˈnä-lə-jist, fō-\ noun