postpalatal
|post-pal-a-tal|
🇺🇸
/ˌpoʊstpəˈlætəl/
🇬🇧
/ˌpəʊstpəˈlætəl/
behind the palate
Etymology
'postpalatal' originates from Latin-derived elements: the prefix 'post-' (from Latin 'post') meaning 'after', and 'palatal' ultimately from Latin 'palatum' meaning 'palate (roof of the mouth)'.
'palatal' entered English via Medieval Latin 'palātālis' (from Latin 'palatum'), and the modern compound 'postpalatal' was formed in English by prefixing Latin-derived 'post-' to 'palatal' to denote position 'after/back of the palate'.
Initially formed to mean 'after the palate' (literally 'post- + palatal'), it came to be used specifically in phonetics to mean 'located behind the palate in articulation'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
in phonetics, located at or articulated just behind the hard palate; describing sounds produced posterior to the palatal region (between palatal and velar articulation).
The consonant was described as postpalatal rather than strictly palatal or velar.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/10/04 14:43