Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
schwa. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
schwa, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
schwa in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
schwa you have here. The definition of the word
schwa will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
schwa, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Etymology 1
Borrowed from German Schwa, from Hebrew שווא / שְׁוָא (shva, šəwā, “(mark mostly indicating absence of a vowel sound)”), borrowed from Classical Syriac ܫ̈ܘܰܝܳܐ (š'wayyā, literally “even, equal”), in Syriac a term for a sign consisting of two vertical dots used to separate parts of a sentence.[1] Doublet of shva.
Pronunciation
Noun
schwa (plural schwas)
- (phonetics) An indeterminate central vowel sound as the "a" in "about", represented as /ə/ in IPA.
- Synonyms: natural vowel, neutral vowel
- Hyponym: schwar
- Coordinate terms: a-schwa, e-schwa, i-schwa, schwar, schwi
1882, B. W. Wells, “The Ablaut in English”, in Transactions of the American Philological Association, page 67:The participle has also, owing to the accent, the lightest possible forms; but here there was no reduplication, and so in class I. the "schwa" took the form e before single mutes or fricatives, and elsewhere o.
2006 April 27, Sylvia Moosmüller, Theodor Granser, “The spread of Standard Albanian: An illustration based on an analysis of vowels”, in Language Variation and Change, volume 18, number 2, Cambridge University Press, →DOI:However, word-final unstressed schwa is deleted even by the speakers from South Albania, though to different degrees and dependant on the speech style […]
- The character ə.
Verb
schwa (third-person singular simple present schwas, present participle schwaing, simple past and past participle schwaed)
- (phonetics, of a vowel sound, rare) To be reduced to schwa.
Derived terms
Translations
indeterminate central vowel
Further reading
- ^ אהרן דותן (דויטשר) (Aron Dotan a.k.a. Aron Deutscher) (1953) “שמותיו של השוא בראשיתו של הדקדוק העברי (The names of the schwa at the beginning of Hebrew grammar)”, in Lĕšonénu: A Journal for the Study of the Hebrew Language and Cognate Subjects / לשוננו: כתב-עת לחקר הלשון העברית והתחומים הסמוכים לה, volume י"ט (19), number קובץ מיוחד תשי"ד (special file 2014), Academy of the Hebrew Language, pages 13-30
Etymology 2
Noun
schwa (plural schwas)
- Alternative form of shva
Anagrams
Italian
Etymology
Borrowed from German Schwa or English schwa, from Hebrew שווא / שְׁוָא (sh'va ,š’vā, “nought”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): */ˈʃva/, */ʃeˈva/*, */ʃəˈva/*, */ˈʃwa/
- Rhymes: -a
Noun
schwa m or f (invariable)
- (phonetics) schwa (mid-central vowel)
Portuguese
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from English schwa.
Pronunciation
- (Brazil) IPA(key): /ʃuˈa/ , (faster pronunciation) /ˈʃwa/, /ʃeˈva/
Noun
schwa m (plural schwas)
- (phonetics) schwa (mid-central vowel)