labial

See also: Labial

English

Etymology

Borrowing from Medieval Latin labiālis (“of or pertaining to the lips”), from labium (“a lip”) +‎ -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix); equivalent to labium +‎ -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈleɪ.bi.əl/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪbiəl

Adjective

labial (not comparable)

1. (anatomy, zootomy) Of or pertaining to the lips or labia.

   Synonym: cheilo-

   • 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 109:

     The wound that does not kill Christ is the magical labial wound; it is the seal of the resurrection and an expression of the myth of eternal recurrence.

2. (linguistics, phonetics) Articulated by the lips, as the consonants b, m and w.

   Coordinate terms: coronal, dorsal, radical, laryngeal

3. (dentistry, of an incisor or canine) On the side facing the lips. See mesial.
4. (music) Furnished with lips.

   a labial organ pipe

Coordinate terms

• (dentistry location adjectives) anterior,‎ apical,‎ apicocoronal,‎ axial,‎ buccal,‎ buccoapical,‎ buccocervical,‎ buccogingival,‎ buccolabial,‎ buccolingual,‎ bucco-occlusal,‎ buccopalatal,‎ cervical,‎ coronal,‎ coronoapical,‎ distal,‎ distoapical,‎ distobuccal,‎ distocervical,‎ distocoronal,‎ distofacial,‎ distogingival,‎ distoincisal,‎ distolingual,‎ disto-occlusal,‎ distoclusal,‎ distocclusal,‎ distopalatal,‎ facial,‎ gingival,‎ incisal,‎ incisocervical,‎ inferior,‎ labial,‎ lingual,‎ linguobuccal,‎ linguo-occlusal,‎ mandibular,‎ maxillary,‎ mesial,‎ mesioapical,‎ mesiobuccal,‎ mesiocervical,‎ mesiocoronal,‎ mesiodistal,‎ mesiofacial,‎ mesioincisal,‎ mesiogingival,‎ mesiolingual,‎ mesio-occlusal,‎ mesioclusal,‎ mesiocclusal,‎ mesiopalatal,‎ occlusal,‎ palatal,‎ posterior,‎ proximal,‎ superior,‎ vestibular ^{(Category: en:Dentistry) [edit]}

Derived terms

• alveololabial
• anterolabial
• apicolabial
• axiolabial
• basolabial
• bilabial
• buccolabial
• cervicolabial
• dentolabial
• distolabial
• endolabial
• exolabial
• gingivolabial
• illabial
• infralabial
• inguinolabial
• interlabial
• labial-alveolar consonant
• labial artery
• labial consonant
• labial geyser
• labialism
• labiality
• labialize, labialise
• labially
• labial-palatal approximant
• labial-palatal consonant
• labial pipe
• linguolabial
• lorilabial
• maxillolabial
• mentolabial
• mesiolabial
• mesolabial
• nasolabial
• nonlabial
• orolabial
• posterolabial
• postlabial
• prelabial
• sublabial
• superlabial, supralabial
• translabial
• vaginolabial
• ventrolabial

 

Translations

pertaining to the lips

• Albanian: buzor (sq)
• Arabic: شَفَوِيّ (šafawiyy), شَفَهِيّ (šafahiyy)
• Armenian: շրթնային (hy) (šrtʻnayin)
• Belarusian: губны́ (hubný)
• Bulgarian: лабиален (labialen)
• Catalan: labial (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 脣的／唇的 (zh) (chún de)

• Czech: retný
• Dutch: labiaal (nl)
• Faroese: varra-
• Finnish: huuli- (fi), labiaalinen (fi)
• French: labial (fr)
• Galician: labial
• German: Lippen- (de), labial (de)
• Greek: χειλικός (el) (cheilikós)
• Italian: labiale (it)
• Persian: لبی (fa) (labi)
• Polish: wargowy (pl)
• Portuguese: labial (pt)
• Punjabi: ਹੋਂਠੀ (hoṇṭhī)
• Russian: губно́й (ru) (gubnój), лабиа́льный (ru) (labiálʹnyj)
• Spanish: labial (es)
• Ukrainian: губни́й (hubnýj)

articulated by the lips

• Arabic: شَفَوِيّ (šafawiyy), شَفَهِيّ (šafahiyy)
• Armenian: շրթնային (hy) (šrtʻnayin)
• Belarusian: губны́ (hubný)
• Bulgarian: лабиален (labialen)
• Burmese: ဩဌဇ (au:hta.ja.)
• Catalan: labial (ca)
• Faroese: varraljóð
• Finnish: labiaalinen (fi)
• French: labial (fr)
• Galician: labial
• Georgian: ბაგისმიერი (bagismieri), ლაბიალური (labialuri)
• German: labial (de)
• Greek: χειλικός (el) (cheilikós)
• Italian: labiale (it)
• Polish: labialny (pl), wargowy (pl)
• Portuguese: labial (pt)
• Russian: губно́й (ru) (gubnój), лабиа́льный (ru) (labiálʹnyj)
• Spanish: labial (es)
• Ukrainian: губни́й (hubnýj)

on the side facing the lips

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 脣側／唇侧 (chúncè)

• Finnish: labiaalinen (fi), labiaali- (fi)

furnished with lips

• Finnish: huuli-

Noun

labial (plural labials)

1. (linguistics, phonetics) A consonant articulated by the lips.

   Hyponyms: bilabial, labiodental

   • 1670, Francis Bacon, Sylva sylvarum : or, a natural history in ten centuries, Natural History, Century II, pp 197-98:

     The motions of the Tongue, Lips, Throat, Palate, & c. which go to the making of the ſeveral Alphabetical Letters are worthy inquiry, and pertinent to the preſent Inquiſition of Sounds: But becauſe they are ſubtil and long to deſcribe, we will refer them over, and place them amongſt the Experiments of Speech. The Hebrews have been diligent in it, and have aſſigned which Letters are Labial, which Dental, which Guttural, & c

   • 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 47, in The History of Pendennis. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:

     You have but the same four letters to describe the salute which you perform on your grandmother’s forehead, and that which you bestow on the sacred cheek of your mistress; but the same four letters, and not one of them a labial.

   • 1959, Anthony Burgess, Beds in the East (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 578:

     Those were his first words of the voyage, and they were spoken with unstuttered labials.

2. (music) An organ pipe having a lip that influences its sound.
   • 1923, Estey Organ Company, The Philosophy of an Organ Builder, Brattleboro, VT, pages 34–35:

     All organ pipes are divided into two general classes, labial and lingual pipes. The main difference between the two classes is the manner by which the vibrations producing the sound are caused. In labial pipes the column of air entering the pipe under pressure is set in vibration by a fixed obstruction at the mount of the pipe. […] [T]he obstruction at the mouth […] causes the column of air to vibrate. In the lingual or reed pipe, the vibrations are caused by the air passing through a metal reed, which causes the tongue of the reed to vibrate, thereby setting up sympathetic vibrations in the column of air in the pipe.

3. (zootomy) Any of the scales bordering the mouth opening of a reptile.

Translations

consonant articulated by the lips

• Armenian: շրթնային (hy) (šrtʻnayin)
• Catalan: labial (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 脣音／唇音 (zh) (chúnyīn)

• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} labiaal (nl) f or m
• Finnish: labiaali (fi)
• Galician: labial f
• German: Labial (de) m
• Italian: labiale (it) f
• Portuguese: labial (pt) f
• Serbo-Croatian: labijal m, usnenik (sh) m
• Spanish: labial (es) f
• Welsh: gwefliad m, cytsain eneuol f

organ pipe

• Dutch: labiaal (nl) n

References

• “labial”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “labial”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

Anagrams

• abilla, ballia

Abenaki

Etymology

Borrowed from French la bière.

Noun

labial (no plural)

1. beer

References

• Laurent, New Familiar Abenakis and English Dialogues

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin labiālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [lə.βiˈal]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [lə.biˈal]
• IPA^(key): (Valencian) [la.biˈal]

Adjective

labial m or f (masculine and feminine plural labials)

1. labial (of or pertaining to the lips)
2. (phonetics) labial (articulated by the lips)

Derived terms

• bilabial
• labialitzar

Related terms

• llavi

Noun

labial f (plural labials)

1. (phonetics) labial (a consonant articulated by the lips)

Further reading

• “labial” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “labial”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “labial” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “labial” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

French

Etymology

From Latin labium + -al.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /la.bjal/

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

labial (feminine labiale, masculine plural labiaux, feminine plural labiales)

1. (phonetics, phonology) labial

Derived terms

• bilabial

See also

• labio-vélaire

Further reading

• “labial”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Galician

Etymology

From Medieval Latin labiālis.

Adjective

labial m or f (plural labiais)

1. labial (of or pertaining to the lips)
2. (phonetics) labial (articulated by the lips)

Derived terms

• bilabial
• labializar

Related terms

• labio

Noun

labial f (plural labiais)

1. (phonetics) labial (a consonant articulated by the lips)

Further reading

• “labial” in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega, Royal Galician Academy.

German

Etymology

From Medieval Latin labiālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /laˈbi̯aːl/

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

labial (strong nominative masculine singular labialer, not comparable)

1. labial

Declension

Positive forms of labial (uncomparable)

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist labial	sie ist labial	es ist labial	sie sind labial
strong declension (without article)	nominative	labialer	labiale	labiales	labiale
	genitive	labialen	labialer	labialen	labialer
	dative	labialem	labialer	labialem	labialen
	accusative	labialen	labiale	labiales	labiale
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der labiale	die labiale	das labiale	die labialen
	genitive	des labialen	der labialen	des labialen	der labialen
	dative	dem labialen	der labialen	dem labialen	den labialen
	accusative	den labialen	die labiale	das labiale	die labialen
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein labialer	eine labiale	ein labiales	(keine) labialen
	genitive	eines labialen	einer labialen	eines labialen	(keiner) labialen
	dative	einem labialen	einer labialen	einem labialen	(keinen) labialen
	accusative	einen labialen	eine labiale	ein labiales	(keine) labialen

Derived terms

• bilabial

Portuguese

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin labiālis.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /la.biˈaw/ [la.bɪˈaʊ̯], (faster pronunciation) /laˈbjaw/ [laˈbjaʊ̯]

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /lɐˈbjal/ [lɐˈβjaɫ]

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /lɐˈbjal/ [lɐˈβjaɫ]
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /lɐˈbja.li/ [lɐˈβja.li]

• Rhymes: -al, -aw
• Hyphenation: la‧bi‧al

Adjective

labial m or f (plural labiais)

1. labial (of or relating to the lips)
2. (phonetics) labial (articulated by the lips)

Derived terms

• bilabial
• labializar

Related terms

• lábio

Noun

labial f (plural labiais)

1. (phonetics) labial (a consonant articulated by the lips)

Further reading

• “labial” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French labial.

Adjective

labial m or n (feminine singular labială, masculine plural labiali, feminine and neuter plural labiale)

1. labial

Declension

Declension of labial

		singular			plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine	masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	labial		labială	labiali	labiale
	definite	labialul		labiala	labialii	labialele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	labial		labiale	labiali	labiale
	definite	labialului		labialei	labialilor	labialelor

Spanish

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin labiālis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /laˈbjal/ [laˈβ̞jal]
• Rhymes: -al
• Syllabification: la‧bial

Adjective

labial m or f (masculine and feminine plural labiales)

1. (relational) lip; labial (of or relating to the lips)
2. (phonetics) labial (articulated by the lips)

Derived terms

• bálsamo labial
• bilabial
• labializar
• lápiz labial

 

Related terms

• labio

 

Noun

labial f (plural labiales)

1. (phonetics) labial (a consonant articulated by the lips)
2. lipstick (make-up for the lips)

Further reading

• “labial”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014