delabialization: Meaning and Definition of

de•la•bi•a•li•za•tion

Pronunciation: (dē-lā"bē-u-lu-zā'shun), [key]
— n. Phonet.
  1. the result or process of delabializing.
  2. the historical progression in which labial sounds delabialize, as the kw-sound in Latin words in quin- “five” becoming a k-sound as in Spanish quince “fifteen.”
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.