ˈfōˌnēm noun
( -s )
Etymology: French phonème, from Greek phōnēma sound, from phōnein to sound
1. : the smallest unit of speech that distinguishes one utterance from another in all of the variations that it displays in the speech of a single person or particular dialect as the result of modifying influences (as neighboring sounds and stress)
the p of English pin and the f of English fin are two different phonemes
— compare allophone , phone
2.
[German phonem, from Greek phōnēma sound]
: an auditory hallucination of voices and spoken words