palato-alveolar Definition

palato-alveolar
adj

1. Said of a speech sound: produced by bringing the tip of the tongue to or near the roots of the upper teeth and raising the tongue towards the hard palate.

noun

1. A sound produced in this way, eg the consonants in church. Compare alveolar.

Etymology: 20c: from palato-, scientific combining form denoting the palate + alveolar.