Etymology of the English word vowel
the English word
vowelderived from the Old French word
vouelderived from the Medieval Latin word
vocalis (able to speak; having a notable voice; tuneful)
derived from the Late Latin word
vox (voice, tone, expression)
derived from the Proto-Indo-European root
*wekĘ·-Date
The earliest known usage of vowel in English dates from the 14th century.
Cognates
Dutch
vocaal, French
voyelle, German
Vokal, Norwegian
vokal, Swedish
vokalUsage
Word found in Modern English
