shwa

shwa [shwah] noun

1. schwa.

schwa or shwa [shwah] noun Phonetics.

1. the mid-central, neutral vowel sound typically occurring in unstressed syllables in English, however spelled, as the sound of a in alone and sofa, e in system, i in easily, o in gallop, u in circus.
2. the phonetic symbol ə, used to represent this sound.

Origin of schwa 1890–95; German Hebrew shəwā, name of a diacritic marking schwa or no vowel British Dictionary definitions for shwa shwa noun

1. a variant spelling of schwa

schwa shwa noun

1. a central vowel represented in the International Phonetic Alphabet by (ə). The sound occurs in unstressed syllables in English, as in around, mother, and sofa
2. the symbol (ə) used to represent this sound

Word Origin for schwa C19: via German from Hebrew shewā, a diacritic indicating lack of a vowel sound Word Origin and History for shwa schwa n.

1895, from German Schwa, ultimately from Hebrew shewa “a neutral vowel quality,” literally “emptiness.”