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scintillescent
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bilabial
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A.Word.A.Day--bilabial

This week's theme: yours to discover.

bilabial (by-LAY-bee-uhl) adjective

Using both lips.

noun

A bilabial sound or consonant, for example p, b, m, where both lips touch each other, and w in which lips are rounded.

[Latin bi- (two) + labial, from labium (lip), ultimately from Indo-European root leb- (lip, to lick) that's also the source of lip, labrose (having thick or large lips), and labret (an ornament worn in a pierced lip).]

See more usage examples of bilabial in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

-Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org)

"Bilabial sounds like mamma, papa and baba are probably the easiest for the infant mouth to master." Jack Rosenthal; From Arf to Zap; The New York Times; Jun 30, 1985.

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