名詞 vowel:

1. a speech sound made with the vocal tract open
   同義詞：vowel sound
2. a letter of the alphabet standing for a spoken vowel

1. A single vowel articulated without change in quality throughout the course of a syllable, as the vowel of English bed.
   單元音在一個音節(jié)的發(fā)音過程中不改變音質(zhì)的單元音，如英文單詞bed中的元音
2. A vowel sound changed in this manner.
   變元音由這種方式改變的元音發(fā)音
3. A checked vowel.
   閉音節(jié)元音
4. The vowels in the English alphabet are a, e, i, o, u, and, sometimes, y.
   英語的元音字母有a，e，i，o，u，有時也包括y。

vow.el

n.Abbr. v.（名詞）縮寫 v.
A speech sound created by the relatively free passage of breath through the larynx and oral cavity, usually forming the most prominent and central sound of a syllable.
元音：由通過咽喉和口腔中相對自由的氣息發(fā)出的聲音，常形成音節(jié)最突出和中心的音
A letter, such asa, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y in the English alphabet, that represents a vowel.
元音字母：英語字母表中a，e，i，o，u 之一，有時字母 y 也在此列，表示一個元音

來源：
Middle English vowelle
中古英語 vowelle
from Old French vouel
源自 古法語 vouel
from Latin (littera) vôc3lis [sounding (letter)]
源自 拉丁語 (littera) vôc3lis [發(fā)聲的（字母）]
from vôx vôc- [voice] * see wek w-
源自 vôx vôc- [聲音] *參見 wek w-