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contoid

noun
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con·​toid | \ ˈkän‧ˌtȯid \
plural -s

Definition of contoid

: a speech sound of a phonetic rather than phonemic classification that includes most sounds traditionally treated as consonants and that excludes those (as English \y\, \w\, \r\, and \h\) which like vowels are characterized by the escape of air from the mouth over the center of the tongue without oral friction — compare vocoid

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History and Etymology for contoid

consonant + -oid

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Cite this Entry

“Contoid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contoid. Accessed 20 Jun. 2021.

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