Where does “phoneme” come from?
Phoneme comes from Ancient Greek φώνημα, derived from φωνή meaning "sound" or "voice," which traces to Proto-Indo-European bʰeh₂- meaning "to speak."
phoneme (English): An indivisible unit of sound in a given language....
Definitions
- An indivisible unit of sound in a given language....
Ancestry of “phoneme”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ancient Greek | φώνημα | sound made, utterance; thing spoken, speech,... |
| 2 | Ancient Greek | φωνέω | I produce a sound or tone; I speak loud or... |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | φωνή | sound; Usually of the human voice: voice, cry,... |
| 4 | Proto-Hellenic | pʰōnā́ | — |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰoh₂-néh₂ | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰeh₂- | to shine, glow light; to speak, say |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰeh₂-s-ri- | — |