His vocabulary seems to have been no larger than was necessary for the
transaction of business.
Macaulay.
Vo*cab"u*list (?), n. [Cf. F. vocabuliste.] The writer or maker of a
vocabulary; a lexicographer.
Vo"cal (?), a. [L. vocalis, fr. vox, vocis, voice: cf. F. vocal. See
Voice, and cf. Vowel.] 1. Of or pertaining to the voice or speech;
having voice; endowed with utterance; full of voice, or voices.
To hill or valley, fountain, or fresh shade, Made vocal by my song.
Milton.
2. Uttered or modulated by the voice; oral; as, vocal melody; vocal
prayer. "Vocal worship." Milton.
3. Of or pertaining to a vowel or voice sound; also, &?;poken with
tone, intonation, and resonance; sonant; sonorous; — said of certain
articulate sounds.
4. (Phon.) (a) Consisting of, or characterized by, voice, or tone
produced in the larynx, which may be modified, either by resonance, as
in the case of the vowels, or by obstructive action, as in certain
consonants, such as v, l, etc., or by both, as in the nasals m, n, ng;
sonant; intonated; voiced. See Voice, and Vowel, also Guide to
Pronunciation, §§ 199-202. (b) Of or pertaining to a vowel; having the
character of a vowel; vowel.
Vocal cords or chords. (Anat.) See Larynx, and the Note under Voice,
n., 1. — Vocal fremitus [L. fremitus a dull roaring or murmuring]
(Med.), the perceptible vibration of the chest wall, produced by the
transmission of the sonorous vibrations during the act of using the
voice. — Vocal music, music made by the voice, in distinction from
instrumental music; hence, music or tunes set to words, to be performed
by the human voice. — Vocal tube (Anat.), the part of the air passages
above the inferior ligaments of the larynx, including the passages
through the nose and mouth.