diphthong
/ˈdɪfˌθɔŋ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 2.09 in modern English
19
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
2
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A complex vowel sound that begins with the sound of one vowel and ends with the sound of another vowel, in the same syllable.
noun
A diaphoneme realized as a two-target vowel in some but not necessarily all dialects.
Example Sentences
- "In Lang Belta vowels usually appear preceding or following a consonant (see previous examples), and as of now no occurrence of diphthongs or triphthongs has been attested."
- "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."
- "An improper diphthong has only one of the vowels sounded; as, ea in heat, oa in coal."
- "The diphthong ae is sounded like ē (§7); that is, it has the sound of ey in they."
Etymology
PIE word *dwóh₁ Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ Proto-Indo-European *dwi- Proto-Hellenic *dwi- Ancient Greek δι- (di-) Ancient Greek φθέγγομαι (phthéngomai) Ancient Greek φθόγγος (phthóngos) Ancient Greek δῐ́φθογγος (dĭ́phthongos)der. Latin diphthongusbor. French diphtongueder. English diphthong From French diphtongue, from Late Latin diphthongus, from Ancient Greek δίφθογγος (díphthongos, “two sounds”), from δίς (dís, “twice”) + φθόγγος (phthóngos, “sound”). Displaced native Old English twifeald swēġ, (literally, "twofold swey").
Origin
- Source language: French
Word Breakdown
- Root: diphtongue, diphthongus, δίφθογγος
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈdɪfˌθɔŋ/
- British English: /ˈdɪfˌθɒŋ(ɡ)/