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vocable

noun

  1. meaningful sound uttered by people
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Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /ˈvəʊkəbl̩/ / /ˈvoʊkəbl̩/

adj

Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *wekʷ-der. Proto-Indo-European *wokʷ-der. Latin vocō Proto-Indo-European *-tḗr Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlom Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlis Proto-Italic *-ðlis Latin -bilis Latin -ābilis Old French -ablebor. Middle English -able English -able English vocable From Latin vocō + -able.

  1. Able to be uttered.

    a vocable marker

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *wekʷ-der. Proto-Indo-European *wokʷ-der. Latin voc(ā) Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlomder. Latin -bulum Latin vocābulumder. Middle French vocablebor. ▲ Latin vocābulumbor. Middle English vocable English vocable From Middle English vocable, from Middle French vocable and its etymon, Latin vocābulum, from vocō (“to call”).

  1. A word or utterance, especially with reference to its form rather than its meaning.

    Without words and almost with the seriousness of asylum nurses they at once set upon an unsavoury-looking matron who began to cry out Mediterranean vocables of distress.

    At first the man puzzled; then he smiled. He pronounced a string of uncouth vocables.

  2. A syllable or sound without specific meaning, used together with or in place of actual words in a song.

    Many Native American songs employ vocables, syllables that do not have referential meaning. These may be used to frame words or may be inserted among them; in some cases, they constitute the entire song text.