bisyllabic

bisyllabic

English

Etymology

bi- +‎ syllabic

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /baɪ.sɪˈlæ.bɪk/

Adjective

bisyllabic (not comparable)

1. Comprising two syllables.

Usage notes

• Bisyllabic is often considered malformed by prescriptive language users, it being an etymological hybrid of Latin (bi-) and Greek (syllabic) roots; the term disyllabic is generally preferred by such commentators (it features di-, the Grecian equivalent of the Latinate bi-), and also occurs far more frequently in common usage.[1][2][3][4]
• However, some linguists use the term bisyllabic.

Synonyms

• disyllabic

Translations

comprising two syllables — see disyllabic

References

1. The Corpus of Contemporary American English: disyllabic (34) vs. bisyllabic (2): Disyllabic is seventeen times more common than bisyllabic in this corpus.
2. The British National Corpus (BYU–BNC): disyllabic (18) vs. bisyllabic (1): Disyllabic is eighteen times more common than bisyllabic in this corpus.
3. The TIME Magazine Corpus of American English: disyllabic (0), dissyllabic (1) vs. bisyllabic (1): Bisyllabic and dissyllabic (a superseded spelling of disyllabic) occur equally often in this corpus.
4. The Oxford English Dictionary (BYU–OED): disyllabic (7), dissyllabic (6) vs. bisyllabic (1): Disyllabic and dissyllabic, taken together, are thirteen times more common than bisyllabic in the entire text of this dictionary.