ablaut (redirected from ablauts)

ab·laut  (äblout, äp-)

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.

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[German : ab, off (from Middle High German ab, abe, from Old High German aba; see apo- in Indo-European roots) + Laut, sound (from Middle High German lt, from Old High German hlt; see kleu- in Indo-European roots).]

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ablaut [ˈæblaʊt (German) ˈaplaut]

n

(Linguistics) Linguistics vowel gradation, esp in Indo-European languages See gradation [5]

[German, coined 1819 by Jakob Grimm from ab off + Laut sound]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

ablaut - a vowel whose quality or length is changed to indicate linguistic distinctions (such as sing sang sung song) gradation, grade - a degree of ablaut vowel, vowel sound - a speech sound made with the vocal tract open

Translations

ablaut

n → Ablaut m