ablaut

Dictionary: ab·laut (äb'lout', äp'-) pronunciation

n.
A vowel change, characteristic of Indo-European languages, that accompanies a change in grammatical function; for example, i, a, u in sing, sang, sung. Also called gradation.

[German : ab, off (from Middle High German ab, abe , from Old High German aba) + Laut, sound (from Middle High German lūt , from Old High German hlūt).]

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Columbia Encyclopedia: ablaut

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ablaut (äp'lout) [Ger.,=off-sound], in inflection, vowel variation (as in English sing, sang, sung, song) caused by former differences in syllabic accent. In a prehistoric period the corresponding inflected forms of the language (known through internal reconstruction) had differences in accent rather than in vowel. Phonological change resulted in alteration of syllable structure and in vowel gradation. See umlaut.

WordNet: ablaut

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Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: a vowel whose quality or length is changed to indicate linguistic distinctions (such as sing sang sung song)
Synonym: gradation

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	abseil
	gradation
	umlaut (symbol – in linguistics)

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		Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
		Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more
		WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. Read more