Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Syllable
Syl′la-ble
,Noun.
1.
An elementary sound, or a combination of elementary sounds, uttered together, or with a single effort or impulse of the voice, and constituting a word or a part of a word. In other terms, it is a vowel or a diphtong, either by itself or flanked by one or more consonants, the whole produced by a single impulse or utterance. One of the liquids, l, m, n, may fill the place of a vowel in a syllable. Adjoining syllables in a word or phrase need not to be marked off by a pause, but only by such an abatement and renewal, or reenforcement, of the stress as to give the feeling of separate impulses. See Guide to Pronunciation, §275.
2.
In writing and printing, a part of a word, separated from the rest, and capable of being pronounced by a single impulse of the voice. It may or may not correspond to a syllable in the spoken language.
Withouten vice [i. e. mistake] of
syllable
or letter. Chaucer.
3.
A small part of a sentence or discourse; anything concise or short; a particle.
Before any
syllable
of the law of God was written. Hooker.
Who dare speak
One
One
syllable
against him? Shakespeare
Syl′la-ble
,Verb.
T.
To pronounce the syllables of; to utter; to articulate.
Milton.
Webster 1828 Edition
Syllable
SYL'LABLE
,Noun.
1.
A letter, or a combination of letters, uttered together, or at a single effort or impulse of the voice. A vowel may form a syllable by itself, as a, the definitive, or in amen; e in even; o in over, and the like. A syllable may also be formed of a vowel and one consonant, as in go, do, in, at; or a syllable may be formed by a vowel with two articulations, one preceding, the other following it, as in can, but, tun; or a syllable may consist of a combination of consonants, with one vowel or diphthong, as strong, short, camp, voice.A syllable sometimes forms a word, and is then significant, as in go, run, write, sun, moon. In other cases, a syllable is merely part of a word, and by itself is not significant. Thus ac, in active, has no signification.
At least one vowel or open sound is essential to the formation of a syllable; hence in every word there must be as many syllables as there are single vowels, or single vowels and diphthongs. A word is called according to the number of syllables it contains, viz.
Monosyllable, a word of one syllable.
Dissyllable, a word of two syllables.
Trisyllable, a word of three syllables.
Polysyllable, a word of many syllables.
2.
A small part of a sentence or discourse; something very concise. This account contains not a syllable of truth. Before a syllable of the law of God was written.
SYL'LABLE
,Verb.
T.