oral

== English == === Etymology === Early 17th century borrowing from Late Latin ōrālis, from ōs (“the mouth”) +‎ -ālis (“-al”, adjectival suffix). === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈɔː.ɹəl/ (General American, Canada) IPA(key): /ˈɔ.ɹəl/ (East Coast dialect) IPA(key): /ˈɑ.ɹəl/ (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA(key): /ˈoː.ɹəl/ (Indic) IPA(key): /ˈorəl/ (without the horse–hoarse merger) enPR: ōrʹəl, IPA(key): /ˈo(ː)ɹəl/ (horse–hoarse merger) Homophone: aural Rhymes: -ɔːɹəl, -ɒɹəl === Adjective === oral (not comparable) (relational) Relating to the mouth. Synonym: (rare) mouthly (pharmacology) Done or taken by the mouth. (phonetics, of a speech sound) Pronounced by the voice resonating in the mouth, as the vowels in English. (psychoanalysis, in Freudian theory) Relating to or denoting a stage of infantile psychosexual development during which libidinal gratification is derived from intake (as of food), by sucking, and later by biting. Of, relating to, or characterized by personality traits of passive dependency and aggressiveness. (relational) Spoken rather than written. Synonyms: spoken, verbal Antonym: written Relating to the transmission of information or literature by word of mouth. Using speech or the lips especially in teaching the deaf. (sociolinguistics, of a society) Not having reached the stage of literacy. ==== Usage notes ==== Not to be confused with aural, which is a homophone in some dialects. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Related terms ==== oracy orature ==== Translations ==== === Noun === oral (countable and uncountable, plural orals) (countable) A spoken test or examination, particularly in a language class. (countable, usually in the plural) A physical examination of the mouth. (uncountable, informal) Ellipsis of oral sex. (bodybuilding, countable) Ellipsis of oral steroid. === References === “oral”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022. “oral”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present. === Further reading === “oral”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC. William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “oral”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC. === Anagrams === -arol, Arlo, LoRa, Loar, Lora, Orla == Afrikaans == === Etymology === From Dutch overal, from Middle Dutch overal, from Old Dutch overal. === Adverb === oral everywhere ==== Alternative forms ==== orals oralste, oralster (nonstandard) == Asturian == === Adjective === oral (epicene, plural orales) oral == Catalan == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): (Central) [uˈɾal] IPA(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [oˈɾal] === Adjective === oral m or f (masculine and feminine plural orals) oral ==== Derived terms ==== oralitat oralment === Further reading === “oral”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007 “oral”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2026 “oral” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua. “oral” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962. == Czech == === Pronunciation === IPA(key): [ˈoral] === Participle === oral masculine singular past active participle of orat == French == === Etymology === Borrowed from Latin ōrālis, from ōs (“mouth”). === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ɔ.ʁal/ Homophones: orale, orales === Adjective === oral (feminine orale, masculine plural oraux, feminine plural orales) oral ==== Derived terms ==== sexe oral stade oral === Noun === oral m (plural oraux) an oral exam, a viva, a viva voce === Further reading === “oral”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012 == German == === Etymology === From Latin os, oris (“mouth”) + -al. === Pronunciation === Rhymes: -aːl === Adjective === oral (strong nominative masculine singular oraler, not comparable) (relational) mouth; oral ==== Declension ==== === Further reading === “oral” in Duden online “oral” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache == Indonesian == === Etymology === Ultimately derived from Late Latin ōrālis, perhaps through Dutch oraal. === Pronunciation === (Standard Indonesian) IPA(key): /ˈoral/ [ˈo.ral] Rhymes: -oral Syllabification: o‧ral === Adjective === oral (generally not comparable) oral: relating to the mouth spoken rather than written == Interlingua == === Adjective === oral (not comparable) oral (pertaining to the mouth) == Polish == === Etymology === Back-formation from oralny. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈɔ.ral/ Rhymes: -ɔral Syllabification: o‧ral === Noun === oral m inan (colloquial, vulgar) oral (oral sex) Coordinate term: anal ==== Declension ==== === Further reading === oral in Polish dictionaries at PWN == Portuguese == === Etymology === Learned borrowing from Latin ōrālis. === Pronunciation === Rhymes: (Portugal) -al, (Brazil) -aw Hyphenation: o‧ral === Adjective === oral m or f (plural orais) oral ==== Derived terms ==== oralidade oralmente === Noun === oral f (plural orais) an oral exam === Further reading === “oral”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026 “oral”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026 == Romanian == === Etymology === Borrowed from French oral. === Adjective === oral m or n (feminine singular orală, masculine plural orali, feminine/neuter plural orale) oral ==== Declension ==== == Serbo-Croatian == === Noun === oral m anim (Cyrillic spelling орал) obsolete spelling of orao == Spanish == === Etymology === Borrowed from Latin ōrālis. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /oˈɾal/ [oˈɾal] Rhymes: -al Syllabification: o‧ral === Adjective === oral m or f (masculine and feminine plural orales) oral ==== Derived terms ==== === Further reading === “oral”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025 == Swedish == === Adjective === oral (not comparable) oral (related to the mouth) ==== Declension ==== ==== Derived terms ==== oralsex (“oral sex”) === References === “oral”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish) “oral”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish) “oral”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)