umlaut
- Noun. (linguistics) An assimilatory process whereby a vowel is pronounced more like a following vocoid that is separated by one or more consonants.
- Noun. (linguistics) The umlaut process (as above) that occurred historically in Germanic languages whereby back vowels became front vowels when followed by syllable containing a front vocoid (e.g. Germanic ''lūsi'' > Old English ''līs(i)'' > Modern English lice).
- Noun. (linguistics) A vowel so assimilated.
- Noun. (orthography) The diacritical mark ( ¨ ) placed over a vowel to indicate such assimilation.
- Verb. To place an umlaut over a vowel.
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This entry was last updated on RefTopia from its source on 3/20/2012.