Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

semivowel

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.24 in modern English

Syllables
semivow-el
IPA
17
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A sound in speech which has some qualities of a consonant and some qualities of a vowel.

noun

A letter which represents a semivowel sound, such as w or y in English.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sem- Proto-Indo-European *sēmi Latin sēmi-bor. English semi- English vowel English semivowel From semi- + vowel.

Inflected Forms

semivowels (plural) semi-vowel (alternative)

Frequently Paired Words

consonant vocoid

Synonyms

glide semiconsonant

Questions

What does semivowel mean?
A sound in speech which has some qualities of a consonant and some qualities of a vowel.
Where does semivowel come from?
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *sem- Proto-Indo-European *sēmi Latin sēmi-bor. English semi- English vowel English semivowel From semi- + vowel.

How to pronounce semivowel

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “semivowel”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “semivowel”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “semivowel” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.