syllable
1. syl.la.ble \'sil-*-b*l\ n [ME, fr. MF sillabe, fr. L syllaba, fr. Gk
syllabe-, fr. (Xsyllambanein to gather together, fr. syn- + lambanein to
take - more at LATCH 1: a unit of spoken language that is next bigger than
a speech sound and co nsists of one or more vowel sounds alone or of a
syllabic consonant alone or of either with one or more consonant sounds
preceding or following 2: one or more letters (as syl, la, and ble) in a
word (a s sylolaoble) usu. set off from the rest of the word by a centered
dot or a hyphen and roughly corresponding to the syllables of spoken
language and treated as helps to pronunciation or as guides to hyphenation
at the end of a line 3: the smallest conceivable expression or unit of
something 4: SOL-FA SYLLABLES
2. syllable \-b(*-)lin\ vt or syl.la.bling 1: to give a number or
arrangement of syllables to (a word or verse) 2: to express or utter in or
as if in syllables