sound shift

noun

a regular sound change, especially when several phonemes are synchronously affected in analogous ways, and/or when there are several interlinked phases

“The Great Vowel Shift was the main sound shift shaping modern English.”

OriginGerman Lautverschiebung →
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Meanings

nounsound shift (countable and uncountable, plural sound shifts)

plural sound shifts

  1. countableuncountablehuman sciencesa regular sound change, especially when several phonemes are synchronously affected in analogous ways, and/or when there are several interlinked phases

    The Great Vowel Shift was the main sound shift shaping modern English.

Origin

  1. GermanLautverschiebung
  2. Englishsound shift

Likely a calque of German Lautverschiebung.

More words from German

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

German Lautverschiebung
  • LautverschiebungTranslations
Hungarian hangeltolódás
  • hangeltolódásTranslations
Polish przesuwka
  • przesuwkaTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

sound shift. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sound%20shift

MLA

“sound shift.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sound%20shift. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sound shift,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sound%20shift.

Source: sound shift on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.