[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/syllabic/)

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# syllabic

adjective (syllabic)

«syllabic» in the English dictionary: everyday and in Jewish tradition — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. Syllabic means about syllables, the beats or sound parts that words are divided into: "hap-py" has two syllables. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/syllabic/#m1)
2. A syllabic writing system (a syllabary) uses one symbol for each syllable, like Japanese kana or the Cherokee syllabary. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/syllabic/#m2)
3. (phonetics) A syllabic sound, like the "n" in "button" or "l" in "bottle", makes a syllable on its own without a vowel. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/syllabic/#m3)

### In the lessons

In English and phonics lessons pupils clap syllables to read and spell longer words; in poetry, syllable counts matter for haiku (5-7-5) and for rhythm. In language lessons, children learn that some scripts are syllabic, some alphabetic (one letter per sound), and Chinese is mostly logographic. Phrases: "syllabic script", "syllabic structure", "syllabic verse".

### Examples

- Japanese hiragana is a syllabic script. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/syllabic/#x1)
- We clapped the syllabic beats of our names. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/syllabic/#x2)
- A haiku has a strict syllabic pattern: 5, 7, 5. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/syllabic/#x3)
- The Cherokee leader Sequoyah invented a syllabic writing system. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/syllabic/#x4)
- In "bottle", the final l is syllabic. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/syllabic/#x5)
- Syllabic poems count syllables, not stresses. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/syllabic/#x6)
- Breaking a long word into syllabic parts helps you spell it. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/syllabic/#x7)

### Note

Pronounced "si-LAB-ik". Noun: syllable; plural syllables. An alphabet (like English) is not syllabic: each letter stands for a sound, not a whole syllable.

## In Jewish tradition

Interpretation: The author of Mordell's study says Sefer Yetzirah praises the alphabet as better than writing systems using pictures or syllables. In the primary lessons: In English and phonics lessons pupils clap syllables to read and spell longer words; in poetry, syllable counts matter for haiku (5-7-5) and for rhythm. In language lessons, children learn that some scripts are syllabic, some alphabetic (one letter per sound), and Chinese is mostly logographic. Phrases: "syllabic script", "syllabic structure", "syllabic verse".

### Examples

- The purpose of the author was to e ..pliiisizc the superiority of alphabetic writing over the non-alphabetic writing (ideographic and syllabic) used by all the nations of antiquity, and even now by a great portion of mankind. (Mordell, The Origin of Letters and Numerals according to Sefer Yetzirah (1914)) [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/S/syllabic/#x1)

### Note

Pronounced "si-LAB-ik". Noun: syllable; plural syllables. An alphabet (like English) is not syllabic: each letter stands for a sound, not a whole syllable.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «syllabic» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/syllabic/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«syllabic» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/syllabic.html) on Mova free.
- [Trees and pragmatics of «syllabic» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/judaism/S/syllabic/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«syllabic» in the Judaism dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/judaism/w/syllabic.html) on Mova free.