alveolar - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Proto-Indo-European *-éyos

Proto-Italic *-ejos

Proto-Indo-European *-lós

Proto-Indo-European *-elós

English alveolar

From alveolus + -ar.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /alˈviː.əl.ə/, /ˌal.viˈəʊ.lə/
• (General American) IPA(key): /ælˈvi.əl.ɚ/, /ælˈvi.lɚ/
• Rhymes: -iːələ(ɹ), -əʊlə(ɹ)

alveolar (not comparable)

1. (anatomy, relational) Relating to the alveoli (small air sacs) of the lungs.
2. (anatomy, relational) Relating to the jaw ridge containing the tooth sockets.
3. (phonetics) Formed with the tongue touching or approaching the inner ridge of the gums of the upper front teeth.
   • 2015 December 4, “Discrimination of Multiple Coronal Stop Contrasts in Wubuy (Australia): A Natural Referent Consonant Account”, in PLOS ONE‎[1], →DOI:
     In the case of the Wubuy alveolar versus retroflex contrast for instance, we argue that the phonetic overlap is so great that native listeners can behave as if this were an instance of a good and a 'less good' instance of a single category (CG).
4. (anatomy, relational) Relating to the glands with secretory cells about a central space.

• alveolar artery

• alveolar bed

• alveolar bone

• alveolar dead space

• alveolarisation

• alveolarization

• alveolarize

• alveolarly

• alveolar nerve

• alveolar process

• alveolar ridge

• alveolar socket

• apico-alveolar

• apicoalveolar

• basialveolar

• bialveolar

• bronchioalveolar

• bronchioloalveolar

• bronchoalveolar

• dentialveolar

• dentoalveolar

• inferior alveolar artery

• inferior alveolar nerve

• interalveolar

• intraalveolar

• labioalveolar

• lobuloalveolar

• microalveolar

• monoalveolar

• nasoalveolar

• nonalveolar

• palatoalveolar, palato-alveolar

• parietoalveolar

• perialveolar

• postalveolar, post-alveolar

• posterior superior alveolar artery

• retroalveolar

• subalveolar

• transalveolar

• tubuloalveolar

• zygomaticoalveolar

• alveolary

relating to the lung alveoli

• Catalan: alveolar (ca)
• Chinese:
  Mandarin: 肺泡的 (zh) (fèipào de)
• Finnish: alveolaarinen (fi)
• French: alvéolaire (fr)
• Irish: ailbheolach
• Italian: alveolare (it) m
• Portuguese: alveolar
• Romanian: alveolar (ro)
• Serbo-Croatian:
  Cyrillic: а̏лвеола̄ран
  Latin: ȁlveolāran (sh)
• Spanish: alveolar (es)
• Welsh: alfeolaidd

relating to the jaw ridge

• Arabic: سِنْخِيّ (sinḵiyy)
• Chinese:
  Mandarin: 齒槽的 / 齿槽的 (zh) (chǐcáo de)
• Finnish: alveolaarinen (fi)
• French: alvéolaire (fr)
• Greek: φατνιακός (el) (fatniakós)
• Irish: ailbheolach
• Italian: alveolare (it) m
• Kashmiri: دۆرتٲلؠ (dortạ̄l')
• Portuguese: alveolar
• Romanian: alveolar (ro)
• Scottish Gaelic: ailbhealach
• Serbo-Croatian:
  Cyrillic: а̏лвеола̄ран
  Latin: ȁlveolāran (sh)
• Spanish: alveolar (es)
• Welsh: gorfannol

formed with the tongue touching or approaching the ridge behind the upper teeth

• Arabic: لِثَوِيّ (liṯawiyy)
• Burmese: မုဒ္ဓဇ (my) (muddha.ja.)
• Catalan: alveolar (ca)
• Chinese:
  Mandarin: 齒齦的 / 齿龈的 (zh) (chǐyín de)
• Czech: dásňový (cs), alveolární
• Danish: alveolær
• Finnish: alveolaarinen (fi)
• French: alvéolaire (fr)
• German: alveolar (de)
• Greek: φατνιακός (el) (fatniakós)
• Hungarian: alveoláris (hu)
• Icelandic: tannbergsmæltur
• Irish: ailbheolach
• Italian: alveolare (it) m
• Kashmiri: دۆرتٲلؠ (dortạ̄l')
• Japanese: 歯茎- (ja) (はぐき, haguki-, しけい, shikei-)
• Malayalam: വർത്സ്യം (ml) (vaṟtsyaṁ)
• Mongolian:
  Cyrillic: түүшийн (tüüšiin), бүйлний (büjlnii) (China)
  Mongolian script: ᠲᠦᢉᠦᠰᠢ ᠶ᠋ᠢᠨ, ᠪᠦᠢᠯᠡ ᠶ᠋ᠢᠨ (büile yin)
• Navajo: tʼáá bízhání
• Polish: alweolarny, dziąsłowy (pl)
• Portuguese: alveolar
• Romanian: alveolar (ro)
• Russian: альвеоля́рный (ru) (alʹveoljárnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: ailbhealach
• Serbo-Croatian:
  Cyrillic: а̏лвеола̄ран
  Latin: ȁlveolāran (sh)
• Spanish: alveolar (es)
• Swedish: alveolar (sv)
• Welsh: gorfannol

relating to alveolar glands

• Catalan: alveolar (ca)
• Chinese:
  Mandarin: 泡狀的 / 泡状的 (pàozhuàngde)
• Finnish: alveolaarinen (fi)
• French: alvéolaire (fr)
• Italian: alveolare (it) m
• Romanian: alveolar (ro)
• Russian: альвеоля́рный (ru) (alʹveoljárnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian:
  Cyrillic: а̏лвеола̄ран
  Latin: ȁlveolāran (sh)
• Spanish: alveolar (es)
• Welsh: gorfannol

alveolar (plural alveolars)

1. (phonetics) An alveolar consonant.
   Synonym: (obsolete) gingival

alveolar consonant

• Chinese:
  Mandarin: 齒齦音 / 齿龈音 (zh) (chǐyínyīn), 齦音 / 龈音 (zh) (yínyīn)

• Czech: alveolára (cs) f, dásňovka f

• Danish: alveolar (da) c

• Finnish: alveolaari (fi)

• French: alvéolaire (fr) f

• German: Zahndammlaut (de) m, Alveolar (de) m

• Hungarian: fogmederhang

• Irish: ailbheolach m

• Japanese: 歯茎音 (はぐきおん, hagukion)

• Portuguese: alveolar f

• Romanian: alveolară f, consoană alveolară (ro) f

• Russian: альвеоля́рный согла́сный m (alʹveoljárnyj soglásnyj), альвеоля́р m (alʹveoljár)

• Serbo-Croatian:
  Cyrillic: алвео̀ла̄р m, дѐснӣк m
  Latin: alveòlār (sh) m, dèsnīk (sh) m

• Swedish: alveolar (sv) c

• Welsh: cytsain gorfannol f

• “alveolar”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

• “alveolar”, in Merriam-Webster.com Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

alveolar c (singular definite alveolaren, plural indefinite alveolarer)

1. (phonetics) alveolar

Adjective form of Alveole (“alveolus”).

• IPA(key): [alveoˈlaːɐ̯]
• Rhymes: -aːɐ̯
• Hyphenation: al‧ve‧o‧lar

alveolar (strong nominative masculine singular alveolarer, not comparable)

1. (phonetics) alveolar

Positive forms of alveolar (uncomparable)

• Alveolar
• “alveolar” in Duden online
• “alveolar”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎[2] (in German)

alveolar m

1. indefinite plural of alveol

• (Brazil) IPA(key): /aw.ve.oˈlaʁ/ [aʊ̯.ve.oˈlah]

• (Brazil) IPA(key): /aw.ve.oˈlaʁ/ [aʊ̯.ve.oˈlah]

  • (São Paulo) IPA(key): /aw.ve.oˈlaɾ/ [aʊ̯.ve.oˈlaɾ]
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA(key): /aw.ve.oˈlaʁ/ [aʊ̯.ve.oˈlaχ]
  • (Caipira) IPA(key): /aw.ve.oˈlaɻ/ [aʊ̯.ve.oˈlaɻ]

• (Portugal) IPA(key): /al.vɛ.uˈlaɾ/ [aɫ.vɛ.uˈlaɾ]

• (Portugal) IPA(key): /al.vɛ.uˈlaɾ/ [aɫ.vɛ.uˈlaɾ]

  • (Northern Portugal) IPA(key): /al.bɛ.uˈlaɾ/ [aɫ.βɛ.uˈlaɾ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA(key): /al.vɛ.uˈla.ɾi/ [aɫ.vɛ.uˈla.ɾi]

alveolar m or f (plural alveolares)

1. (anatomy) alveolar (relating to the alveoli of the lungs)
2. (anatomy) alveolar (relating to the jaw ridge)
3. (phonetics, of a phoneme) alveolar (produced on the jaw ridge)

alveolar f (plural alveolares)

1. (phonetics) alveolar (a consonant produced on the jaw ridge)

• “alveolar”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “alveolar”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Borrowed from French alvéolaire.

alveolar m or n (feminine singular alveolară, masculine plural alveolari, feminine/neuter plural alveolare)

1. alveolar

• IPA(key): /alʋeǒlaːr/
• Hyphenation: al‧ve‧o‧lar

alveòlār m inan (Cyrillic spelling алвео̀ла̄р)

1. an alveolar
   Synonym: dèsnīk

From alvéolo +‎ -ar.

• IPA(key): /albeoˈlaɾ/ [al.β̞e.oˈlaɾ]
• Rhymes: -aɾ
• Syllabification: al‧ve‧o‧lar

alveolar m or f (masculine and feminine plural alveolares)

1. alveolar

alveolar f (plural alveolares)

1. alveolar

• “alveolar”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

From German alveolar

• IPA(key): /alvɛʊˈlɑːr/

alveolar (not comparable)

1. (phonology, phonetics) alveolar

Inflection of alveolar

1 The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.
2 Dated or archaic.
3 Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.

alveolar c

1. (phonetics, phonology) alveolar consonant

• “alveolar”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• “alveolar”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “alveolar”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)