retroflex

retroflex
/re"treuh fleks'/, adj.
1. bent backward; exhibiting retroflexion.
2. Phonet. articulated with the tip of the tongue curled upward and back against or near the juncture of the hard and soft palates; cacuminal; cerebral; coronal.
Also, retroflexed /re"treuh flekst'/.
[1910-15; < L retroflexus (ptp. of retroflectere to bend back). See RETRO-, FLEX1]

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      in phonetics, a consonant sound produced with the tip of the tongue curled back toward the hard palate. In Russian the sounds sh, zh (like the English s sound in “pleasure”), and shch are retroflex; there are also many retroflex consonants in the languages of India.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • retroflex — [re′trə fleks΄] adj. [L retroflexus, pp. of retroflectere: see RETRO & FLEX1] 1. bent or turned backward 2. Phonet. articulated with the tip of the tongue raised and bent slightly backward toward the hard palate: Also retroflexed n. Phonet. a… …   English World dictionary

  • Retroflex — Re tro*flex, Retroflexed Re tro*flexed, a. [Pref. retro + L. flectere, flexum, to bend, to turn.] Reflexed; bent or turned abruptly backward. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • retroflex — RETROFLÉX, Ă adj. (anat., bot.) întors, curbat spre înapoi. (< lat. retroflexus) Trimis de raduborza, 15.09.2007. Sursa: MDN …   Dicționar Român

  • retroflex — (adj.) 1776; , from Mod.L. retroflexus, pp. of retroflectere, from retro (see RETRO (Cf. retro )) + flectere to bend. The verb (1898) is a back formation from retroflexed (1806), from the adjective …   Etymology dictionary

  • Retroflex — Artikulationsorte labial bilabial labiodental dental alveolar alveolopalatal postalveolar retroflex palatal labiovelar velar uvular pharyngal glottal Ein Retroflex (v. lat. retrō „zurück“ u. flectere „biegen“) ist ein …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • retroflex — adjective Etymology: New Latin retroflexus, from Latin retro + flexus, past participle of flectere to bend Date: 1776 1. turned or bent abruptly backward 2. articulated with the tongue tip turned up or curled back just under the hard palate …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • retroflex — ret|ro|flex [ˈretrəfleks] adj technical [Date: 1700 1800; : Modern Latin; Origin: retroflexus, from Latin flexus bent ] a retroflex speech sound is made with the end of your tongue pointing backwards and upwards …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • retroflex — [ rɛtrə(ʊ)flɛks] (also retroflexed) adjective 1》 Anatomy & Medicine turned backwards. 2》 Phonetics pronounced with the tip of the tongue curled up towards the hard palate. Derivatives retroflexion noun Origin C18: from L. retroflex ,… …   English new terms dictionary

  • retroflex — adjective technical a retroflex speech sound is made with the end of your tongue pointing backwards and upwards …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • retroflex — adj. (also retroflexed) 1 Anat., Med., & Bot. turned backwards. 2 Phonet. = CACUMINAL. Derivatives: retroflexion n. Etymology: L retroflectere retroflex (as RETRO , flectere bend) …   Useful english dictionary

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