Great Vowel Shift
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Tweet n. A series of phonetic changes occurring in Early Modern English in which the Middle English low and mid long vowels were raised, (ä) and (ō) becoming (ā) and (), for example, while the high long vowels (ē) and () became the diphthongs (ī) and (ou). |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.