English
phonal
Phonal comes from Ancient Greek φωνή ‘sound’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to speak’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-1‘to speak’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰoh₂-néh₂1reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pʰōnā́1reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφωνή2phōnḗ‘sound’
- Englishtodayphonal2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek φωνή
- 2 Wiktionary, English phonal
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰeh₂-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek φωνή‘to speak’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰoh₂-néh₂Wiktionary, Ancient Greek φωνήreconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*pʰōnā́Wiktionary, Ancient Greek φωνήreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφωνήWiktionary, English phonalphōnḗ‘sound’
- EnglishtodayphonalWiktionary, English phonal
Formed from -al
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- ‘to speak’
focus, professor, famous, fuel, ben, favor, favourite, ban, fantasy, phase, fate, fancy, fame, bee, fairy, fabulous, emphasis, infant, photographer, profession, fatal, abandon, phenomenon, beck, confession, confess, phantom, beacon, eff, fab, fay, bane, fable, boon, foyer, banish, prophetic, buoy, nefarious, epiphany, 120 more
through Proto-Hellenic *pʰōnā́
saxophone, gramophone, phoneme, 13 more
through Ancient Greek φωνή ‘sound’
phone, symphony, cacophony, sinfonia, euphonium, phonon, 16 more
Today it means
adj Of, relating to, or produced by, the voice.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “phonal”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek φωνή. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- / phonal