syllable
n. countablen. a single unit of sound in a word. For example, the word 'apple' has two of these sounds: 'ap' and 'ple'.
n. a unit of pronunciation having one vowel sound, with or without surrounding consonants, forming the whole or a part of a word.
The word 'cat' has only one syllable.
When learning a new language, it helps to break long words down into each individual syllable to improve your pronunciation.
Haiku poetry relies on a strict structure of seventeen syllables arranged in a five-seven-five pattern across three lines.
From Middle English syllable, sillable, syllabylle, sylabul, from Anglo-Norman sillable, from Old French sillebe, from Latin syllaba, from Ancient Greek συλλαβή (sullabḗ), from συλλαμβάνω (sullambánō, “to gather together”), from συν- (sun-, “together”) + λαμβάνω (lambánō, “to take”).
Commonly used with verbs like 'stress', 'emphasize', or 'count'.