ablaut
ab·lowt/ˈɑbˌlaʊt/noun, verb
ablaut is a noun meaning “The substitution of one root vowel for another, thus indicating a corresponding modification of use or meaning; vowel permutation, distinct from the…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is spelled A-B-L-A-U-T and has 2 syllables (ab·lowt), and it appears about once in every 42 million words in written English (wordfreq, 2021 data). The plural of ablaut is ablauts.
What does ablaut mean?
noun
- 1
The substitution of one root vowel for another, thus indicating a corresponding modification of use or meaning; vowel permutation, distinct from the phonetic influence of a succeeding vowel.
verb
- 1
To undergo a change of vowel.
- 2
To cause to change a vowel.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you pronounce ablaut?
- US /ˈɑbˌlaʊt/
- US /ˈɑpˌlaʊt/
- US /ˈæbˌlaʊt/
Ablaut has 2 syllables, split ab·lowt in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-ablaut.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-ablaut2.wav, En-ca-ablaut.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of ablaut
- ablauts plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- ablauting participle, present
- ablauted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How common is ablaut?
Ablaut appears about once in every 42 million words in written English, the 199,120th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Ablaut in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense substitution of one root vowel for another:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | apophonie |
| German | Ablaut (Vokalabstufung f) |
| Portuguese | ablaut, apofonia |
| Spanish | apofonía |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does ablaut come from?
Borrowed from German Ablaut (“sound gradation”), which is from ab- or ab (“down, off”), + Laut (“sound”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).