Velum
Pronunciation: /ˈvɛləm/
Velum (noun)
- The soft part at the back of the roof of the mouth.
- A thin layer of tissue in some sea animals, like mollusks.
Examples
- The velum helps in producing certain speech sounds.
- During swallowing, the velum moves to close off the nasal passages.
Common collocations: raise the velum, lower the velum, velum closure, mollusk velum, velum function