semivowel

/sem-ee-vou-uhl/US // ˈsɛm iˌvaʊ əl //UK // (ˈsɛmɪˌvaʊəl) //

半元音,半元音符,半元音节,半元音符号

Definitions

n.名词 noun

1
- : Phonetics. a speech sound of vowel quality used as a consonant, as in wet or in yet.

It should be noted that the Dictionarium, which was written contemporaniously, does use y for the semivowel.
The diphthong oi is the vowel o modified, plus the semivowel y (not the vowel i) modified.
It has taken the allied sound of the semivowel y, and so, with the preceding vowel, constitutes a diphthong.
In roi it is the semivowel allied to series p; in oil it is the semivowel allied to series k.
Effect of the semivowel y on certain letters when they precede it.