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Ablaut

//ˈɑbˌlaʊt// noun, verb

Definitions

Noun

1
The substitution of one root vowel for another, thus indicating a corresponding modification of use or meaning; vowel permutation, distinct from the phonetic influence of a succeeding vowel. countable, uncountable
"I declare to you that Literature was not written for schoolmasters, nor for schoolmistresses. I would not exchange it for a wilderness of schoolmasters. It should be delivered from them, who, with their silly Ablauts and ‘tendencies,’ can themselves neither read nor write."
2
a vowel whose quality or length is changed to indicate linguistic distinctions (such as sing sang sung song) wordnet

Verb

1
To undergo a change of vowel. intransitive
"This root must once have ablauted, given the associated nominal derivatives prthii- 'broad', prthivl- 'earth'. However, it does not ablaut at all in its verbal forms."
2
To cause to change a vowel. transitive

Etymology

Etymology 1

Borrowed from German Ablaut (“sound gradation”), which is from ab- or ab (“down, off”), + Laut (“sound”). Ab is used here in the sense of “deviating, varying” as in Abgott (“god other than the true God”), Abart (“different sort, variety, anomality”).

Etymology 2

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