Main Entry: pho·nol·o·gy

Pronunciation: \fə-ˈnäl-ə-jē, fō-\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural pho·nol·o·gies

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 \ˌfōn-^əl-ˈäj-i-kəl also ˌfän-^əl-\ also pho·no·log·ic \-ik\ adjective

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