Laryngeal

Pronunciation

• UK IPA: /ləˈrɪn.dÊ’i.É™l/, /læɹˈɪn.dÊ’É™l/, /ËŒlæɹ.ɪnˈdÊ’iː.É™l/
• US IPA: /ləˈrɪn.dÊ’i.É™l/, /ËŒlæɹ.ɪnˈdÊ’iː.É™l/

Origin

From modern Latin laryngeus, from larynx.

Full definition of laryngeal

Adjective

1. Of or pertaining to a larynx or larynges.
• 1871, Journal of Psychological Medicine (volume 5, page 83)At sight of it there commenced a series of laryngeal spasms, with clutchings at his throat, far more violent than any I had heretofore seen.

Noun

1. (phonetics) A laryngeal sound, a sound uttered by using the larynx.
2. (Indo-European linguistics) In Proto-Indo-European, one of the typically three reconstructed consonants usually marked as , and .

Usage notes

The term laryngeal in Indo-European studies is but an anachronistic misnomer, retained only because it has been established as a standard term for those three phonemes. The exact phonetic value of Proto-Indo-European laryngeals is unknown, but it's generally agreed that not all of them were real laryngeals.