What does velar mean?
Velar is an adjective describing the back of the mouth and sounds made there. The term is especially common in phonetics, where it refers to consonants produced by raising the back of the tongue toward the soft palate, or velum. Familiar examples include the /k/ sound in *cat* and the /g/ sound in *go*, although the exact articulation varies by language. In anatomy, velar means relating to the soft palate. The word comes from Latin *velum*, meaning “sail,” “curtain,” or “covering,” and through related forms it shares an origin with *veil*. Although it may sound specialized, velar is useful whenever describing how a sound is formed, distinguishing sounds made at the back of the mouth from those made at the front or in the middle.
adjectiveRelating to the soft palate, the fleshy rear portion of the roof of the mouth. In phonetics, it describes a sound produced by raising the back of the tongue toward the soft palate.
- In phonetics, produced with the back of the tongue raised toward the soft palate.
- Relating to the velum, or soft palate, in anatomy.
"The phoneme /k/ is a velar consonant in many languages."
"The German word *Kirche* begins with a velar fricative."
"The soft palate is also called the velar region of the mouth."
Velar comes from the Latin word for “sail” or “curtain,” so the same root that gave us “veil” also describes sounds made at the back of your mouth.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does velar come from?
Velar derives from Latin *velum*, meaning “sail,” “curtain,” or “covering.” The Latin adjective *velaris*, meaning “of or pertaining to a sail,” was the source of the English term, which was later applied to the soft palate and to speech sounds produced there. The same Latin root also underlies words such as *veil* and *velamen*.
How velar is actually used
Velar is primarily a technical term used in linguistics and anatomy. In phonetics, it names a place of articulation rather than a particular sound, since several consonants can be velar.