Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

cuttlebone

/ˈkʌt(ə)lˌboʊn/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: 1.06 in modern English

Syllables
cut-tle-bone
IPA
/ˈkʌt(ə)lˌboʊn/
14
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Synonym of cuttlefish bone (“the calcareous, oval-shaped internal shell of a cuttlefish (order Sepiida), originally used in powdered form as an antacid and for absorbing moisture or polishing objects, and now chiefly as a dietary supplement for cage birds”).

Etymology

From Middle English cotilbone [and other forms], from cotil, cutil, codel (“cuttlefish; cuttlebone”) (from Old English cudele (“cuttlefish”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gew- (“to bend, to curve; an arch; a vault”)) + bon (“bone”) (from Old English bān (“bone”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyh₂- (“to hit, strike; to cut, hew”)). The English word is analysable as cuttle (“cuttlefish”) + bone.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *gew-, cotilbone, cudele, bān, *bʰeyh₂-

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈkʌt(ə)lˌboʊn/
  • British English: /ˈkʌtl̩bəʊn/

Inflected Forms

cuttlebones (plural)

Frequently Paired Words

cuttle cuttlefish

Synonyms

sepiostaire sepium osselet cuttlefish bone

Questions

How do you pronounce cuttlebone?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈkʌt(ə)lˌboʊn/.
What does cuttlebone mean?
Synonym of cuttlefish bone (“the calcareous, oval-shaped internal shell of a cuttlefish (order Sepiida), originally used in powdered form as an antacid and for absorbing moisture or polishing objects, and now chiefly as a dietary supplement for cage birds”).
Where does cuttlebone come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce cuttlebone

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “cuttlebone”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈkʌt(ə)lˌboʊn/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “cuttlebone”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “cuttlebone” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.