1. (n.) A description of the laws of the human voice, or sounds uttered by the organs of speech.

2. (n.) A representation of sounds by distinctive characters; commonly, a system of shorthand writing invented by Isaac Pitman, or a modification of his system, much used by reporters.

3. (n.) The art of constructing, or using, the phonograph.

Speedwriting abatement abbreviation abridgment alleviation apocope aposiopesis attenuation brachygraphy clipping coarctation constriction crasis cutting dampening damping decrease decrement decrescence deduction deflation depreciation depression diminishment diminution dying dying off elision ellipsis extenuation fade-out languishment lessening letup lowering miniaturization mitigation narrowing phonography pruning reduction relaxation sagging scaling down shortening shorthand simplicity stenography stricture subtraction syncope syneresis tachygraphy taper tapering truncation weakening