umlaut

  1. Noun.  (linguistics) An assimilatory process whereby a vowel is pronounced more like a following vocoid that is separated by one or more consonants.
  2. 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).
  3. Noun.  (linguistics) A vowel so assimilated.
  4. Noun.  (orthography) The diacritical mark ( ¨ ) placed over a vowel to indicate such assimilation.
  5. 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.