Great Vowel Shift
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Great Vowel Shift
n.
A series of phonetic changes occurring in Early Modern English in which the Middle English low and mid long vowels were raised, (ä) and (ō) becoming (ā) and (o͞o), for example, while the high long vowels (ē) and (o͞o) became the diphthongs (ī) and (ou).
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Great Vowel Shift
n
(Phonetics & Phonology) linguistics a phonetic change that took place during the transition from Middle to Modern English, whereby the long vowels were raised (eː became iː, oː became uː, etc). The vowels (iː) and (uː) underwent breaking and became the diphthongs (aɪ) and (aʊ)
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
Great′ Vow′el Shift′
n.
a series of changes in the quality of the long vowels between Middle and Modern English as a result of which all were raised, while the high vowels (ē) and (o̅o̅), already at the upper limit, underwent breaking to become the diphthongs (ī) and (ou).
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.