Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Phonetic \Pho*net"ic\, a. [Gr. ?, fr. ? a sound, tone; akin to
   Gr. ? to speak: cf. F. phon['e]tique. See {Ban} a
   proclamation.]
   1. Of or pertaining to the voice, or its use.

   2. Representing sounds; as, phonetic characters; -- opposed
      to {ideographic}; as, a phonetic notation.

   {Phonetic spelling}, spelling in phonetic characters, each
      representing one sound only; -- contrasted with Romanic
      spelling, or that by the use of the Roman alphabet.

Source : WordNet®

phonetic
     adj 1: of or relating to speech sounds; "phonetic transcription"
            [syn: {phonic}]
     2: of or relating to the scientific study of speech sounds;
        "phonetic analysis"