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VOCALIC.
agreed by philosophers and anatomists. 1842 Penny Cycl.
XXII. 429/2 The upward current of air passing through
the larynx produces an effect on the vocal ligameDts. 187a
HuxLKY Physiol, vii. 178 These sliarp free edges of the
glottis are the so-called vocal chords or vocal ligaments.
1887 Buck's Handbk. Med. Sci. IV. 391/2 The vocal bands
deserve a separate notice on account of their great physio,
logical importance. «
b. spec. Connected with the utterance of vowelsounds.
1887 Alien. >, Neurol. VIII. 7 The vocal (vowel) mechan.
ism is the first that is manifested in the child.
7. Of or belonging to the voice (f or sound).
1644 BuLwER Chirol. 4 In the report of a Piece, the eye
being the nimbler sense, discernes the discharge before any
intelligence by conduct of the voc.ill Wave arrive at the
eare. 1654 H. L'Estrangk Chas. I (1655) i Though his
[Charles's] vocall impediment accompanyed him till the
fatall stroke. 1795 Mason Ck. Music ii. 154 They must
still endeavour to hit that precise medium in the vocal
faculty, which pronounces and sings at the same time. 1840
Dickens Old C. Shop Ixii, Mr. Quilp was certainly entertaining
himself with vocal exercise. i86a H. W. Fuller
pis. C/i«/l.iii. 18 This 'vocal fremitus 'is more pronounced
in adults than in children. 1B81 Lady Herbert Edith 6
Indifferent to everything but his child's beauty and vocal
talents.
b. Of the nature of voice or sound.
a 18x6 Heber Traml. Pindar \i. 158 Of vocal shafts . . that
wildly fly, 1844 Mrs. Brow.mng Lady Geraldine s Courtship
xliv, 'Tis the eyes that shoot out vocal light.
8. Full of voice or sound; sounding, resounding.
Also const, by, with.
1667 Milton P. L. v. 204 Hill, or Valley," Fountain, or
fresh shade Made vocal by my Song, 1697 Dryoen Virg.
Past. IV. 4 Sicilian Muse prepare To make the vocal Woods
deserve a Consul's care. 1717 Pope Eloisa 140 Such plain
roofs as Piety could raise. And only vocal with the Maker's
praise. 1746 Hervey Medit. (1818) 247 She flies the vocal
grove, and shuns the society of all the feathered choir.
1813 By.-.on Age oj Bronze xi. This was not the method of
old Rome, When Tully fulmined o'er each vocal dome.
i834P»iNGi.E A/r. Si. viii. 288 The inland streams.. are
vocal in spring with the shrill chirping of millions of frogs.
1868 Farrar Silence ^ V.i. (1875) 8 When all the air is
vocal with whispering trees, and singing birds.
9. Readily or freely expressing oneself in speech
giving vent to one's views or opinions.
1871 Smiles Chnrac. ix. (1876) 256 The modern English,
as compared .with their . nimbler more communicative and
vocal .
. neighbours, the modern French and Irish. 1881
Pall Malic. 10 Feb. i/i That policy (of coercion in Ireland]
may have done something to pacify.. an influential
and highly vocal class in England. 1887 Ibid. 4 March 1/2
The most vocal class in the whole community, as the legal
profession may fairly be described.
B. sb. 1. a. A vowel. Obs.
1581 Stamyhi/rst jSneis To Rdr. (.\rb.) 14 Where the
next woord following beginneth with a vocal. 1586 —
Treat. IreL 9/2 in Holinshed I, In corruption of common
lalke we find that (u) with his vocale is easilie lost and
suppressed ;
so we sale ere for euer [etc.].
•f b. A voiced consonant. Obs.
1669 Holder Elem. Speech 78 To soften the Occluse Gingival
Consonants, byaltind of.. addition of a Spirital . . to
a Vocal producing the Vowel.
2. Vocal faculty ; power of speech.
1838 Mrs. Browning .y^ra/tAiOT 11. ju Hath language
left thy lips, to place Its vocal in thine eye?
3. A member of a Roman Catholic body who
has a right to vote in certain elections.
a i«6o Contemp. Hist. Irel. (Ir. Archaeol. Soc.) II. 109 In
Conaght, on the 15th of August, 1650, all the vocalls of the
whole province there apeeringe, and of Carons faction .
were the undernamed (though not all, but some, before
theire transgression were vocalls). 1718 Chambers Cycl.
S.V., A Man must have been a Religious a certain number of
Years, to be a Vocal. 1811 W. Jacob Trav. S. Spain 64,
I am afraid I should only create disgust were I to dwell on
other characters among the vocals, as they are designated.
Vocalic ( vokse-lik) , a. [f. Vocal a. -^ -lo. Of.
F. vocalique.']
L Rich in vowels ; composed mainly or entirely
of vowels.
1814 Scott ii'av. xxii, The Gaelic language being uncommonly
vocalic is well adapted for sudden and eitem.
poraneous poetry. 1846 Grotk Greece 1. xvi. I. 473 Its
richness, its flexibility and capacity of new combinations,
its vocalic abundance and metrical pronunciation. 1859
Patteson in Miss Vonge Li/e (1874) I. 439 Their language
is all vocalic and so easy to put into writing,
b. Characterized by a vowel or vowels.
1874 Savce Compar. Philot. ii 92 The varying vocalic
forms of the Imperfect (tense). 18S7 A. S. Cook Sievers'
O- 'S'- Gram. 129 Vocalic or strong declension.
2. Consisting of a vowel or vowels; of the nature
of a vowel.
1851 in yrnl Ethnol. Soc. (1834) HI. 264 The series of
vocahc and consonantal sounds. 1868 G. Stephens Runic
MoH. I. 25 Thesing. accusative ending in a vowel or a vocalic
consonant. 1874 A. B. Davidson [ntrod. Hebr. Gram. loi
Sometimes the vocalic termination is written with yod
'*?,' cV *" ^'*''"''-* O. E. Phonology ig In final unaccented
sj^lables e was developed from a vocalic liquid or nasal.
3. Of or pertaining to, affecting or concerning, a
vowel or vowels.
i8«i Graham £«,f. Word.Bk.Amxai., In words of Gothic
origin we more frequently find that internal vocalic and consonant.^1
changes are employed to produce the new word
1876 DousF. Grimms Laiu 171 Of the corresponding vocalic
affections, the palatal .. is as much European as Aryan. 1876
Blackie Lang, t, Lit. Scot. Highl. i. 63 No man with an
ear will deny vocalic depth., to the following lines
VOCalion {yoV?-\an). [f. Vocal a. + -ion.]
277
A musical instrument of the nature of a harmonium
with broad reeds, producing sounds somewhat
resembling the human voice.
Invented in 1882 by J. Baillie Hamilton.
l88a Daily .Vews 17 Apr. 2/2 'The vocalion resembles in
form a small organ, and is constructed of various dimensions,
some having but one row of keys (or manuals), others
having two keyboards and pedals. 1889 Grove Diet. Mus.
IV. 320 .\ main peculiarity of the Vocalion is that the reeds
are placed above the pallets and below the slides.
Vocalism (vJuJcaliz'm). [f. Vocal a. + -ism.
Cf. F. vocalisme, mod.L. vocalismus, in sense 2 b.]
1. The exercise of the voice or vocal organs in
speech.
1864 Webster, Vocalism, the exercise of the vocal organs.
j866 Felton^mc. . I. i. ii Rough and violent
intonations embodied in mimetic vocalism the harsh, the
painful, the agitating passions. 1873 F. Hall Mod. Eng.
19 We should now be talking in monosyllables, and eking
out our scantiness of vocalism by nods, shrugs, winks, and
other resources of pantomime.
b. The art of exercising the voice in singing.
_ 1884 Sala Joitrn. due South \. XX. (1887) 255 Italian vocal-
ism seems to me to be extremely beautiful everywhere save
in Italy itself, where singing out of tune..seem[s] to be the
rule. 1889 Daily Nems 28 June 2/3 A professor of vocalism
to the family of the Prince and Princess of Wales. 1903 Sat.
Rev. 16 May 614/2 When vocalism is wanted.. her vocal
art is sufficient for the purpose.
2. A vocal sound or articulation.
1873 Earle Philol. Eng. Tongue (ed. 2) § J26 In the
schools, children are allowed to utter such thick.lipped
vocalisms as Mosos.
b. A system of vowels ; the use of vowels.
1873 Earle Philol. Eng, Tongue (ed. 2) § 109 There is one
dialect of our family which is distinguished for such a vocalism,
and that is Mreso-Gothic. 1891 A. L. Mayhew O. E.
Phonology Pref. p. v. The subject of my book is the Vocal.
ism and Consonantism of Old English or Anglo-Saxon.
Vocalist (v^u'kalist). [f. as prec. + -IST. Cf.
F. vocalistt in sense 2.]
1 1. An utterer of words ; a speaker. Obs.~^
1613 Jackson Creed 11. iv. S 6 The ciuill Magistrates
facilitie to countenance euery prating Discontent, or forthputting
Vocalist.
2. A vocal musician ; a singer.
1834 Ainsworth Rooiwood 11. i. Preparing himself, like
certain other accomplished vocalists, with a few preliminary
hems and haws. 1858 H. Spencer Ess. I. 370 Now, in
singing, this tremulousness of voice is very effectively used
by some vocalists in highly pathetic passages. i88s Stevenson
Prince Otto 11. iv. 102 She was a good vocalist ; and, even
m speech, her voice commanded a great range of changes.
trans/. 1897 G. Allen Type-writer Girl viiL 86 Little
vocalists . . carolled songs without words in the sky overhead.
Hence Vocall'stlc a., pertaining to vocal music
or musicians.
1884 Bazaar 12 Dec. 629/2 Vocalistic feats, .which would
put to shame most of the public singers of the day.
Vocality (vokasiiti). [f. Vooal a. -v -itt.]
1. The quality of having voice or utterance ; the
possession or exercise of vocal powers.
'S97 \' King On Jonas (1618) 34 Sentences of scripture,
expressing the loudnesse and vocality of sinne. 1657 Divint
Lot'er-2j Now as concerninge the maner of exerci-sing these
Deuotions, it ought cheifly to be done in Spirit and mind,
and without any vocalitie at all. 1794 E. Darwin Zoon. I.
xvii. 192 The movements of her eyes and eyelids, and of the
intricate muscles of vocality. 1818 Monthly Mag. XLVL
321 If >;ou consider attentively the proportion of vocality
needed in articulating each consonant. 1839 Marryat F.
Mildmay xxiv. Fearing she might not confine herself to
vocality. 1865 Carlyle Fredk. Gt. xx. vi. (1872! IX. 122
Cats do execution for a time, but cannot stand the confinement.,
and object (think with what vocality).
2. The quality or fact of being uttered or utter-
vocal quality or nature.
able ;
i6a3 CocKERAH I, Vocalitie, the tune or sound of the
voice. i8fi3 A. Melville Bell Princ. Speech 107 When
the Stammerer can . . keep the tongue and jaw steady during
the continuous flow of the vocality of /.
b. //. Vocal properties or sounds, sftc. as displayed
in singing.
1667 Pepys Diary 30 Dec., Not understanding the words,
I lose the benefit of the vocalitys of the musick, and it
proves only instrumental. 1774 '
J. Collier ' Mus. Trim.
I1775) 9-««rflf/xxv.2i5 Itisnoteveryone who
is gifted with the. .talent of vocalization. 1863 E. C Clay-
TOnQuet-ns o/SangU. 386 Mile. Piccolomini. . boreacertain
similitude to the great German singer, though in point of
vocalization she was very inferior. 1883 tgthCent. May 867
On a visit to the Zoological Gardens,..! heard. -illustrations
of nearly all the principal subjects belonging to the
repertoire of technical vocalisation.
b. spec. The action of singing upon a vowel to
one or more notes.
1889 Grove's Did. Mus. IV. 321 Vocalisation is therefore ,
one part of the operation of pronunciation, the other being
articulation.
3. The insertion of vowel-signs in forms of writing
consisting mainly or entirely of consonants.
184s Pitman Man. Phonography (ed. 7) 27 Vocalization
of double Consonants. 1847 Ibid. (ed. 8) 35 Vocalization
of Words. 18^ Athenxum 10 June 571/2 The question of
vocalization.. is one of the highest importance in Biblical
criticism. 1883 A. Roberts O. T. Revision vii. 145 The
important subject of vocalization . . here falls to be more particularly
considered.
4. Phonetics. Conversion into a voiced sound.
1874 Sweet in Trans. Pkilol. Soc. 539 It seems, therefore,
that the vocalization of initial (and also medial) s in English
is merely a case of levelling, caused by the analogy of the
vocal ^and v.
6. The utterance of vowel sounds.
1887 Alien, 9f Neurol. VIII. /Vocalization (vowelizing) Is
the expression of an emotion, an indistinct sensation, not an
idea.
Vocalize (vi?u-kaUiz), V. [f. Vocal v. +-ize.
Cf. F. vocaliser (1835), Pg. vocaiisar, -tzar, Sp.
-tzar, It. -izzare.']
L trans. To form into voice ; to make audible
by utterance ; to utter or articulate.
1669 Holder Elem. Speech 30 It is one thing to Breath, or
give an Impulse to breath alone ; another thing, to vocalize
that breath,/, e. in its passage through the Larynx to give it
the sound of Humane Voyce. Ibid, bo The Vowels are made
by a free passage of Breath Vocalized through the cavity of
the Mouth. 1673 [R. Leigh] /"rrtw^/. ,/?M. 119 Every breath
of moving air may continue articulate, especially if vocaliz'd
in Sir S. Moreland's trumpet. 1867 A. Melville Bell
Visible S/eech gi A fakhful copy of the native pronunciation
which readers in all countries will vocalize alike. 1899
Allbutt's Syst. Med. VII. 65 A similar inability to control
the tongue can be demonstrated by making the patient
vocalise r.
b. To sing.
1798 in Spirit Pub. Jmls. C1799) II. 146 Our small company
had vocalized all the songs in the opera, in such a
manner as I never heard them executed upon any theatre in
London. 1851 E. FitzGerald Lett, (1889) 1. 213 How
would you like to see me. .scoring up semibreves on a staff
for half a dozen Rustics to vocalize ?
2. Phonetics, a. To convert into a vowel.
1844 Proc. Philol. Soc. I. 249 It is true that the objectionable
sound might be.. got rid of, .by vocalizing the second
consonant, especially if a labial. 1871 Kennedy /'w^/iV5'