Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “vowel” come from?

Vowel comes from Old French vouel, from Latin vocalis, meaning "of or pertaining to the voice."

vowel (English): A sound produced by the vocal cords with...

Definitions

  1. A sound produced by the vocal cords with...

Ancestry of “vowel”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old FrenchvouelAlternative form of voyeul
2Old Frenchvoyeulvowel
3Latinvōcālis—
4Latinvōx—
5Proto-Italicwōksvoice
6Proto-Indo-Europeanwṓkʷsvoice, speech
7Proto-Indo-Europeanwekʷ-to speak, to sound out

Words derived from “vowel”

  • semivowel
  • vowelled
  • vowelless
  • vowelling
  • vowelly
  • vowellessness
  • vowelish
  • vowelize
  • vowelism
  • vowelhood
  • tense vowel
  • lax vowel
  • vowelise
Every word from Proto-Indo-European wekʷ- →