DEVOCALIZE

Etymology

Verb

devocalize (third-person singular simple present devocalizes, present participle devocalizing, simple past and past participle devocalized)

(transitive) To make toneless; to deprive of vowel quality.

• H. Sweet

(transitive) To reduce the volume of the vocalizations of (an animal) by surgically removing tissue from its vocal cords.

Source: Wiktionary

De*vo"cal*ize, v. t.

Definition: To make toneless; to deprive of vowel quality.

– De*vo`cal*i*za"tion, n. If we take a high vowel, such as (i) [= nearly i of bit], and devocalize it, we obtain a hiss which is quite distinct enough to stand for a weak (jh). H. Sweet.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition