diphthong
See also: Diphthong
English
WOTD – 17 September 2006
Alternative forms
- dipthong (obsolete)
Etymology
| PIE word |
|---|
| *dwóh₁ |
From French diphtongue, from Ancient Greek δίφθογγος (díphthongos, “two sounds”), from δίς (dís, “twice”) + φθόγγος (phthóngos, “sound”).
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈdɪfˌθɒŋ(ɡ)/; (proscribed) /ˈdɪpˌθɒŋ(ɡ)/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈdɪfˌθɔŋ/; (proscribed) /ˈdɪpˌθɔŋ/
- (Canada, US, cot–caught merger) IPA(key): /ˈdɪfˌθɑŋ/; (proscribed) /ˈdɪpˌθɑŋ/
Audio (Canada) (file) Audio (US, proscribed) (file) - Rhymes: -ɪfθɔŋ, -ɪfθɑŋ
Noun
| Examples (phonetics) |
|---|
|
diphthong (plural diphthongs)
- (phonetics) A complex vowel sound that begins with the sound of one vowel and ends with the sound of another vowel, in the same syllable.
- Coordinate terms: monophthong, triphthong
- (rare) A vowel digraph or ligature.
- 1854, Robert Bigsby, Historical and Topographical Description of Repton, in the County of Derby, Woodfall and Kinder, page 47:
- And he might have written the name, also, with the diphthong æ, as well as the single vowel, in the initial syllable, throughout all the preceding forms.
- 1860, Joseph E. Worcester, An Elementary Dictionary of the English Language, Swan, Brewer, and Tileston, page 12:
- An improper diphthong has only one of the vowels sounded; as, ea in heat, oa in coal.
- 1874, Theophilus Dwight Hall, A Child’s First Latin Book, John Murray, page 3:
- The diphthong ae is sounded like ē (§7); that is, it has the sound of ey in they.
-
Derived terms
Derived terms
- diphthongal
- diphthongic
- diphthongization, diphthongisation
- diphthongize, diphthongise
- diphthongoid
- diphthongy
- spurious diphthong
Related terms
- monophthong
- triphthong
- apothegm
- hiatus
Translations
complex vowel sound
|
See also
- glide
- ligature
Further reading
diphthong on Wikipedia.Wikipedia