labials

Noun

labial (plural labials)

1. A consonant articulated by the lips.
   • The motions of the Tongue, Lips, Throat, Palate, & c. which go to the making of the ſeveral Alphabetical Letters are worthy inquiry, and pertinent to the preſent Inquiſition of Sounds: But becauſe they are ſubtil and long to deſcribe, we will refer them over, and place them amongſt the Experiments...1670, Francis Bacon, Sylva sylvarum : or, a natural history in ten centuries, Natural History, Century II, pp 197-98
2. An organ pipe having a lip that influences its sound.
   • All organ pipes are divided into two general classes, labial and lingual pipes. The main difference between the two classes is the manner by which the vibrations producing the sound are caused. In labial pipes the column of air entering the pipe under pressure is set in vibration by a fixed...1923, Estey Organ Company, The Philosophy of an Organ Builder, Brattleboro, VT, pages 34–35
3. Any of the scales bordering the mouth opening of a reptile.

See all 7 meanings of labial