SYLLABLE

[noun] [C] - a single unit of speech, either a whole word or one of the parts into which a word is separated when it is spoken or divided when it is printed. It usually contains a vowel.There are two syllables in the word 'silver' and three in 'appetite'.In the word 'particular', the stress falls on the second syllable.(figurative) "It's three months since the argument and you still haven't spoken to each other?" "Not one syllable! (= No, we haven't said anything to each other!)"See also disyllabic; monosyllabic; polysyllabic.