| ablaut |
| Definition: A vowel-sound change within a word that shows changed grammatical function. |
| Example:
(1) sing, sang, and sung (2) mouse and mice |
| Etymology: The word derives from the German Ablaut, off-sound; the latter was coined in 1568 by J.P. Zweigel (from ab, off + Laut, sound or tone). |
| OED: Its first citation is from 1849: "As if it took its meaning from ‘roar’; which in reality is the ablaut form of ‘rear’." (E. Thomson Select Monuments p. xxxi,) |