adj. Designating those Indo-European languages, including the Indo-Iranian, Armenian, and Balto-Slavic branches, in which original palatal velar stops became fricatives (as k' > s or š) and labiovelar stops became plain velars (as kw > k). [Avestan satəm, hundred (a word whose initial sound illustrates the change); see dek in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] |
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