Lyman's law

proper noun

A linguistic rule stating that rendaku does not occur if the second element of the compound contains a voiced obstruent in any position, e.g. yama + kaji produces yamakaji (mountain fire), not *yamagaji.

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Meanings

proper noun
  1. human sciencesA linguistic rule stating that rendaku does not occur if the second element of the compound contains a voiced obstruent in any position, e.g. yama + kaji produces yamakaji (mountain fire), not *yamagaji.

Origin

After Benjamin Smith Lyman (1835–1920), American mining engineer and amateur linguist.

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Cite this entry
APA

Lyman's law. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Lyman's%20law

MLA

“Lyman's law.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Lyman's%20law. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Lyman's law,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Lyman's%20law.

Source: Lyman's law on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.