indefinite vowel

indefinite vowel
Neutral Neu"tral, a. [L. neutralis, fr. neuter. See {Neuter}.] 1. Not engaged on either side; not taking part with or assisting either of two or more contending parties; neuter; indifferent. [1913 Webster]

The heart can not possibly remain neutral, but constantly takes part one way or the other. --Shaftesbury. [1913 Webster]

2. Neither good nor bad; of medium quality; middling; not decided or pronounced. [1913 Webster]

Some things good, and some things ill, do seem, And neutral some, in her fantastic eye. --Sir J. Davies. [1913 Webster]

3. (Biol.) Neuter. See {Neuter}, a., 3. [1913 Webster]

4. (Chem.) Having neither acid nor basic properties; unable to turn red litmus blue or blue litmus red; -- said of certain salts or other compounds. Contrasted with {acid}, and {alkaline}. [1913 Webster]

{Neutral axis}, {Neutral surface} (Mech.), that line or plane, in a beam under transverse pressure, at which the fibers are neither stretched nor compressed, or where the longitudinal stress is zero. See {Axis}.

{Neutral equilibrium} (Mech.), the kind of equilibrium of a body so placed that when moved slighty it neither tends to return to its former position not depart more widely from it, as a perfect sphere or cylinder on a horizontal plane.

{Neutral salt} (Chem.), a salt formed by the complete replacement of the hydrogen in an acid or base; in the former case by a positive or basic, in the latter by a negative or acid, element or radical.

{Neutral tint}, a bluish gray pigment, used in water colors, made by mixing indigo or other blue some warm color. the shades vary greatly.

{Neutral vowel}, the vowel element having an obscure and indefinite quality, such as is commonly taken by the vowel in many unaccented syllables. It is regarded by some as identical with the [u^] in up, and is called also the {natural vowel}, as unformed by art and effort; it is also called the {indefinite vowel}. It is symbolized in some phonetic alphabets by the {schwa} ([schwa]). See Guide to Pronunciation, [sect] 17. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • natural vowel — Neutral Neu tral, a. [L. neutralis, fr. neuter. See {Neuter}.] 1. Not engaged on either side; not taking part with or assisting either of two or more contending parties; neuter; indifferent. [1913 Webster] The heart can not possibly remain… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Neutral vowel — Neutral Neu tral, a. [L. neutralis, fr. neuter. See {Neuter}.] 1. Not engaged on either side; not taking part with or assisting either of two or more contending parties; neuter; indifferent. [1913 Webster] The heart can not possibly remain… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Neutral — Neu tral, a. [L. neutralis, fr. neuter. See {Neuter}.] 1. Not engaged on either side; not taking part with or assisting either of two or more contending parties; neuter; indifferent. [1913 Webster] The heart can not possibly remain neutral, but… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Neutral axis — Neutral Neu tral, a. [L. neutralis, fr. neuter. See {Neuter}.] 1. Not engaged on either side; not taking part with or assisting either of two or more contending parties; neuter; indifferent. [1913 Webster] The heart can not possibly remain… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Neutral equilibrium — Neutral Neu tral, a. [L. neutralis, fr. neuter. See {Neuter}.] 1. Not engaged on either side; not taking part with or assisting either of two or more contending parties; neuter; indifferent. [1913 Webster] The heart can not possibly remain… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Neutral salt — Neutral Neu tral, a. [L. neutralis, fr. neuter. See {Neuter}.] 1. Not engaged on either side; not taking part with or assisting either of two or more contending parties; neuter; indifferent. [1913 Webster] The heart can not possibly remain… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Neutral surface — Neutral Neu tral, a. [L. neutralis, fr. neuter. See {Neuter}.] 1. Not engaged on either side; not taking part with or assisting either of two or more contending parties; neuter; indifferent. [1913 Webster] The heart can not possibly remain… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Neutral tint — Neutral Neu tral, a. [L. neutralis, fr. neuter. See {Neuter}.] 1. Not engaged on either side; not taking part with or assisting either of two or more contending parties; neuter; indifferent. [1913 Webster] The heart can not possibly remain… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Romance languages — Romance Geographic distribution: Originally Southern Europe and parts of Africa; now also Latin America, Canada, parts of Lebanon and much of Western Africa Linguistic classification: Indo European Italic …   Wikipedia

  • Finnish verb conjugation — Verbs in the Finnish language are usually divided into six groups depending on the stem type. All six types have the same set of endings, but the stems undergo (slightly) different changes when inflected.Please refer to the Finnish language… …   Wikipedia

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