Meanings
adjectivebilabial (not comparable)
- not comparablehuman sciencesArticulated with both lips.
"Oh, yes. He talks a lot about phonemes and semantemes and bilabial fricatives. He has a van with recording apparatus in it. He's a good chap."
1959, Anthony Burgess, Beds in the East (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 545
nounbilabial (plural bilabials)
plural bilabials
- human sciencesA speech sound articulated with both lips.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*dwóh₁
- Proto-Indo-European*dwi-
- Proto-Italic*dwi-
- Latinbi-
- Englishbi-
- Proto-Indo-European*leb-
- Proto-Indo-European*l̥b-yóm
- Proto-Italic*labjom
- Latinlabium
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
- Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
- Medieval Latinlabiālis
- Englishlabial
- Englishbilabial
Translations
Arabic شَفَتَانِيّ
- شَفَتَانِيّ (šafatāniyy)articulated with both lips
Catalan bilabial, bilabial
- bilabialarticulated with both lips
- bilabiala speech sound articulated with both lips
Chinese Mandarin 雙唇音 /双唇音
- 雙唇音 /双唇音 (shuāngchúnyīn)a speech sound articulated with both lips
Czech obouretný, retoretný
- obouretnýarticulated with both lips
- retoretnýarticulated with both lips
- bilabiálníarticulated with both lips
- retnicea speech sound articulated with both lips
- bilabiálaa speech sound articulated with both lips
Finnish bilabiaalinen, bilabiaali
- bilabiaalinenarticulated with both lips
- bilabiaalia speech sound articulated with both lips
French bilabial
- bilabialarticulated with both lips
German bilabial, Doppellippenlaut
- bilabialarticulated with both lips
- Doppellippenlauta speech sound articulated with both lips
- Zweilippenlauta speech sound articulated with both lips
- Beidlippenlauta speech sound articulated with both lips
- Bilabiala speech sound articulated with both lips
Greek διπλοχειλικός, διχειλικός
- διπλοχειλικός (diplocheilikós)articulated with both lips
- διχειλικός (dicheilikós)a speech sound articulated with both lips
Hebrew דּוּ־שְׂפָתִי
- דּוּ־שְׂפָתִי (du-s'fatí)articulated with both lips
Icelandic tvívaramæltur
- tvívaramælturarticulated with both lips
Irish déliopach, déliopach
- déliopacharticulated with both lips
- déliopacha speech sound articulated with both lips
Italian bilabiale, bilabiale
- bilabialearticulated with both lips
- bilabialea speech sound articulated with both lips
Japanese 両唇音
- 両唇音 (ryōshin'on)a speech sound articulated with both lips
Polish bilabialny, dwuwargowy
- bilabialnyarticulated with both lips
- dwuwargowyarticulated with both lips
Portuguese bilabial, bilabial
- bilabialarticulated with both lips
- bilabiala speech sound articulated with both lips
Russian билабиа́льный, гу́бно-губно́й
- билабиа́льный (bilabiálʹnyj)articulated with both lips
- гу́бно-губно́й (gúbno-gubnój)articulated with both lips
- билабиа́льный звук (bilabiálʹnyj zvuk)a speech sound articulated with both lips
- гу́бно-губно́й звук (gúbno-gubnój zvuk)a speech sound articulated with both lips
Spanish bilabial, bilabial
- bilabialarticulated with both lips
- bilabiala speech sound articulated with both lips
Swedish bilabial
- bilabialarticulated with both lips
Vietnamese âm đôi môi
- âm đôi môia speech sound articulated with both lips
Welsh dwywefusol
- dwywefusolarticulated with both lips
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with bilabial
labialnasolabialalveololabialanterolabialapicolabialaxiolabialbasolabialbuccolabialcervicolabialdentolabialdistolabialendolabialexolabialgingivolabialillabialinfralabialinguinolabialinterlabiallinguolabiallorilabialmaxillolabialmentolabialmesiolabialnonlabial
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
bilabial. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bilabial
MLA
“bilabial.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bilabial. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bilabial,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bilabial.
Source: bilabial on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.