Phoneme
/ˈfoʊ.niːm/noun
The smallest unit of sound in a language that distinguishes one word from another.
Did you know?The concept of the phoneme is tied to the ancient belief that sound itself holds power, influencing both communication and reality.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*bʰeh₂-
“to speak, to say”
Ancient Greek
Greek
φωνή (phōnē)
“voice, sound”
Late Latin
Latin
phonema
“sound, voice, utterance”
19th Century
English
phoneme
“theoretical unit of sound in linguistics, representing speech sounds that distinguish meanings”