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O·ral

(ôrəl) or U·ralsk (y-rălsk, -rälsk)

A city of northwest Kazakhstan on the Ural River south-southeast of Samara, Russia. Founded by Cossacks c. 1622, it is a processing and manufacturing center.

o·ral

(ôrəl)

adj.

1. Spoken rather than written.

2. Of or relating to the mouth: oral surgery.

3. Used in or taken through the mouth: an oral thermometer; an oral vaccine.

4. Consisting of or using speech: oral instruction.

5. Linguistics Articulated through the mouth only, with the nasal passages closed.

6. Psychology Of or relating to the first stage of psychosexual development in psychoanalytic theory, from birth to about 18 months, during which the mouth is the chief focus of exploration and pleasure. The oral stage is followed by the anal stage.

1. often orals An academic examination in which questions and answers are spoken rather than written.

2. Informal Oral sex.

[Late Latin ōrālis, from Latin ōs, ōr-, mouth; see ōs- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

oral·ly adv.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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