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Glite Dictionary
vocal organ

vocal organ

3.8
A part of the mouth or throat that helps make speech sounds
  • noun
  • /ˈvoʊkəl ˈɔrɡən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : órgano vocal
  • The larynx is one of the main vocal organs that helps us produce sound when we speak.

Examples

  • In adult chaffinches, section of the left hypoglossal nerve (the nerve for the syrinx, the bird's vocal organ) leads to the loss of most components of the song, but section of the right hypoglossal nerve has only minor effects.

    Academic text (1995)

  • The earliest appeared in 1916, when Elsie Shawe highlighted voice testing as "a necessity for the preservation of the vocal organs of the boys and girls."

    Academic text (2008)

  • The first pathway (from nucleus HVC to RA to nXII) directly controls muscles of the syrinx (the avian vocal organ), and it is considered the motor pathway.

    Academic text (1994)

  • To improve her singing, she took lessons to strengthen her vocal organs and learn proper breathing techniques.

  • Certain animals have unique vocal organs that allow them to create distinct sounds for communication.

Synonyms

organ of speech
vsvocal organ
1 4.4

A body part like the tongue or lips used to make sounds for talking

is the same meaning but phrased differently
speech organ
vsvocal organ
  • Specialized
4.1

A body part like the tongue or lips that makes speech sounds

includes those plus throat and palate organs too
articulator
vsvocal organ
  • Specialized
7.4

A part in the mouth like the tongue or lips that helps make speech sounds

covers all these parts including not movable throat and palate structures

Surface Forms

vocal organ singular
vocal organs plural

Morphology

vocal + organ

The meaning 'organ involved in producing speech sounds' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'vocal' (voice-producing) with 'organ' (a body part that performs a function). This adjective+noun composition follows a regular, cross-linguistically common pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Vocal organ comes from comparing parts of the body to musical instruments. Vocal means 'voice' and organ refers to a part that makes sound, so the phrase paints the tongue, lips and larynx as 'instruments' that produce speech, which is why it means 'parts of the body that make speech'.