[vow.el] n [ME, fr. MF vouel, fr. L vocalis--more at vocalic] (14c) 1: one of a class of speech sounds in the articulation of which the oral part of the breath channel is not blocked and is not constricted enough to cause audible friction; broadly: the one most prominent sound in a syllable
2: a letter or other symbol representing a vowel--usu. used in English of a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes y