\Syl"la*ble\, n. [OE. sillable, OF. sillabe, F.
syllabe, L. syllaba, Gr. ? that which is held together,
several letters taken together so as to form one sound, a
syllable, fr. ? to take together; ? with + ? to take; cf.
Skr. labh, rabh. Cf. {Lemma}, {Dilemma}.]
1. An elementary sound, or a combination of elementary
   sounds, uttered together, or with a single effort or
   impulse of the voice, and constituting a word or a part of
   a word. In other terms, it is a vowel or a diphtong,
   either by itself or flanked by one or more consonants, the
   whole produced by a single impulse or utterance. One of
   the liquids, l, m, n, may fill the place of a vowel in a
   syllable. Adjoining syllables in a word or phrase need not
   to be marked off by a pause, but only by such an abatement
   and renewal, or re["e]nforcement, of the stress as to give
   the feeling of separate impulses. See Guide to
   Pronunciation, [sect]275.
2. In writing and printing, a part of a word, separated from
   the rest, and capable of being pronounced by a single
   impulse of the voice. It may or may not correspond to a
   syllable in the spoken language.
         Withouten vice [i. e. mistake] of syllable or
         letter.                               --Chaucer.
3. A small part of a sentence or discourse; anything concise
   or short; a particle.
         Before any syllable of the law of God was written.
                                               --Hooker.
         Who dare speak One syllable against him? --Shak.

\Syl"la*ble\, v. t.
To pronounce the syllables of; to utter; to articulate.
--Milton.