velaradj.n.
/ˈviːlə/, U.S. /ˈvilər/ 1. Architecture. (See quots.)
ΚΠ
1726 G. Leoni tr. L. B. Alberti Architecture I. 55/1 A Vault..which for its resemblance to a swelling Sail, we..call a Velar Cupola.
1823 P. Nicholson New Pract. Builder 595 Vellar cupola, a cupola or dome, terminated by four or more walls.
1842 J. Gwilt Encycl. Archit. Gloss. 1050 Vellar Cupola, a term used by Alberti to denote a dome or spherical surface terminated by four or more walls.
2.
a. Phonetics. Of sounds: Produced by means of the soft palate.Applied specifically to one of the two sets of guttural sounds existing in the original Indo-European language.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > speech sound by place or organ > [adjective] > velar
velar1876
dark1882
labiovelar1894
velarized1915
post-velar1934
velaric1934
1876 Academy 4 Nov. 457/1 The author begins with the now well-known distinction of the k sounds into two sets, which he calls velar and palatal.
1883 I. Taylor Alphabet I. 160 The Semitic alphabets..have no symbols for certain classes of sounds, such as the velar gutturals.
1888 J. E. King & C. Cookson Princ. Sound & Inflexion Greek & Lat. vi. 117 According to place of articulation they can be divided into labial, dental, palatal, and velar sounds.
b. As n. A velar guttural.
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the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > speech sound by place or organ > [noun] > velar
velar1886
labiovelar1892
post-velar1934
1886 T. Le M. Douse Introd. Gothic 37 The guttural element of a velar may vanish.
1886 T. Le M. Douse Introd. Gothic 37 The velars themselves may be palatalized.
1888 J. E. King & C. Cookson Princ. Sound & Inflexion Greek & Lat. vi. 118 The distinction between palatals and velars is comparatively recent and of great importance in the history of modern philology.
3. Zoology. Of or pertaining to a velum.
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the world > animals > animal body > general parts > constituent materials > [adjective] > relating to membrane
velar1878
1878 F. J. Bell & E. R. Lankester tr. C. Gegenbaur Elements Compar. Anat. 328 The cilia in the velar circlet are those that are most markedly developed.
1880 E. R. Lankester in Nature 17 June 147/2 Velar centrifugal canals..are peculiar to this genus.
1883 Encycl. Brit. XVI. 663/1 The post-oral hemisphere of the Trochosphere grows more rapidly than the anterior or velar area.
Derivatives
veˈlarity n. velar quality.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > speech sound by place or organ > [noun] > velar > quality
darkness1906
velarity1952
1952 Archivum Linguisticum 4 72 The apostrophe after n and g indicates velarity.
1964 R. H. Robins Gen. Linguistics iv. 155 The nine separate phonemes..are maintained as distinctive units by six features: plosion, voice, nasality, bilabiality, alveolarity, and velarity.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1916; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.n.1726