schwa

or shwa

[ shwah ]
/ ʃwɑ /

noun Phonetics.

the mid-central, neutral vowel sound typically occurring in unstressed syllables in English, however spelled, as the sound of a in alone and sofa, e in system, i in easily, o in gallop, u in circus.
the phonetic symbol ə, used to represent this sound.

Origin of schwa

1890–95; < German < Hebrew shəwā, name of a diacritic marking schwa or no vowel

Words nearby schwa

schutzstaffel, schuyler, schuylerville, schuylkill, schvartze, schwa, schwaben, schwachman syndrome, schwag, schwalbe's ring, schwann

British Dictionary definitions for schwa

schwa

shwa

/ (ʃwɑː) /

noun

a central vowel represented in the International Phonetic Alphabet by (ə). The sound occurs in unstressed syllables in English, as in around, mother, and sofa
the symbol (ə) used to represent this sound

Word Origin for schwa

C19: via German from Hebrew shewā, a diacritic indicating lack of a vowel sound