prepalatal
|pre-pa-lat-al|
/ˌpriːpəˈlætəl/
before the palate (in front of the hard palate)
Etymology
'prepalatal' originates from Latin elements: the prefix 'prae' (via Old French/Latinized form 'pre-') meaning 'before' and 'palatum' meaning 'palate', combined in English to indicate 'before the palate'.
'palatum' (Latin) gave rise to 'palatal' in English via Late Latin and French derivatives; the prefix 'pre-' (from Latin 'prae') was attached in Modern English to form 'prepalatal', literally 'before the palate'.
Initially the components meant 'before' + 'palate'; over time the compounded term came to be used specifically in phonetics to describe sounds articulated just in front of the hard palate.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
describing a speech sound articulated with the tongue body or blade just in front of (anterior to) the hard palate; produced near the front part of the palate.
The researcher classified the consonant as prepalatal because it was produced with the blade of the tongue close to the front of the palate.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/10/04 14:23