syllable

n. [ OE. sillable, OF. sillabe, F. syllabe, L. syllaba, Gr. &unr_; that which is held together, several letters taken together so as to form one sound, a syllable, fr. &unr_; to take together; &unr_; with + &unr_; to take; cf. Skr. labh, rabh. Cf. Lemma, Dilemma. ] 1. An elementary sound, or a combination of elementary sounds, uttered together, or with a single effort or impulse of the voice, and constituting a word or a part of a word. In other terms, it is a vowel or a diphtong, either by itself or flanked by one or more consonants, the whole produced by a single impulse or utterance. One of the liquids, l, m, n, may fill the place of a vowel in a syllable. Adjoining syllables in a word or phrase need not to be marked off by a pause, but only by such an abatement and renewal, or reenforcement, of the stress as to give the feeling of separate impulses. See Guide to Pronunciation, §275. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. In writing and printing, a part of a word, separated from the rest, and capable of being pronounced by a single impulse of the voice. It may or may not correspond to a syllable in the spoken language. [ 1913 Webster ]

Withouten vice [ i. e. mistake ] of syllable or letter. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A small part of a sentence or discourse; anything concise or short; a particle. [ 1913 Webster ]

Before any syllable of the law of God was written. Hooker. [ 1913 Webster ]

Who dare speak
One syllable against him? Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]