I. ˈpaləd. ə l, -ət ə l adjective
Etymology: French, from Latin palatum palate + French -al — more at palate
1. : of or relating to the palate : palatine
2.
a. : formed with the front of the tongue behind the lowered tip near or touching the hard palate (as ḵ in German iḵ ich, as y in yeast or yacht, as n y in French ȧn y ō agneau, as l y in Italian l y ē gli ) — compare palatalized , velar
b.
(1) : formed with the blade of the tongue near the hard palate (as the sounds represented by sh in she, si in vision, ch in chin, j in jug )
(2) of a vowel : front ☞Because some phoneticians make the hard palate alone their datum of reference, others the combined hard-soft palate, and because some make two subdivisions, others three, compounds of prefix and palatal are not consistently used
c. of a vowel in Russian : soft 4c
3. : of, relating to, or situated on the outside of the aperture of a univalve mollusk
a palatal lip
• pal·a·tal·ly - ə lē, - ə li adverb
II. noun
( -s )
1. : palatine bone
2. : a palatal sound