allophone
|al-lo-phone|
C1
🇺🇸
/ˈæləˌfoʊn/
🇬🇧
/ˈæləfəʊn/
variant sound
Etymology
Etymology Information
'allophone' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'allophonos,' where 'allo-' meant 'other' and 'phone' meant 'sound.'
Historical Evolution
'allophonos' transformed into the modern English word 'allophone' through linguistic adaptation.
Meaning Changes
Initially, it meant 'other sound,' and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a variant form of a phoneme in a particular language that does not change the meaning of a word.
In English, the 'p' in 'spin' and 'pin' are allophones of the same phoneme.
Last updated: 2025/06/28 21:36