PHONETIC

phonetic

(adjective) of or relating to the scientific study of speech sounds; “phonetic analysis”

phonetic, phonic

(adjective) of or relating to speech sounds; “phonetic transcription”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Adjective

phonetic (not comparable)

Relating to the sounds of spoken language.

(linguistics) Relating to phones (as opposed to phonemes)

Noun

phonetic (plural phonetics)

(linguistics) In such writing systems as the Chinese writing system, the portion of a phono-semantic character that provides an indication of its pronunciation; contrasted with semantic (which is usually the radical).

Source: Wiktionary

Pho*net"ic, a. Etym: [Gr. phonétique. See Ban a proclamation.]

1. Of or pertaining to the voice, or its use.

2. Representing sounds; as, phonetic characters; -- opposed to ideographic; as, a phonetic notation. Phonetic spelling, spelling in phonetic characters, each representing one sound only; -- contrasted with Romanic spelling, or that by the use of the Roman alphabet.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition