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labial

[ ley-bee-uhl ]
/ ˈleɪ bi əl /
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adjective
of, relating to, or resembling a labium.
of or relating to the lips.
Phonetics. involving lip articulation, as p, v, m, w, or a rounded vowel.
Music. having the tones produced by the impact of a stream of air on a sharp liplike edge, as in a flute or the flue pipes of an organ.
noun Phonetics.
any labial consonant, especially a bilabial.
any labial sound.
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Origin of labial

From the Medieval Latin word labiālis, dating back to 1585–95. See labium, -al1

OTHER WORDS FROM labial

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use labial in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for labial

labial
/ (ˈleɪbɪəl) /

adjective
of, relating to, or near lips or labia
music producing sounds by the action of an air stream over a narrow liplike fissure, as in a flue pipe of an organ
phonetics relating to a speech sound whose articulation involves movement or use of the lipsa labial click
noun
Also called: labial pipe music an organ pipe with a liplike fissure
phonetics a speech sound such as English p or m, whose articulation involves movement or use of the lips

Derived forms of labial

labiality, nounlabially, adverb

Word Origin for labial

C16: from Medieval Latin labiālis, from Latin labium lip
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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