Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

-phone

/ˈfoʊ̯n/

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: 5.30 in modern English

Syllables: -phone
IPA: /ˈfoʊ̯n/

10

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

suffix

A type of sound.

suffix

A device that makes a sound.

suffix

Forming adjectives: speaking a certain language.

suffix

Forming nouns: a speaker of a certain language.

Example Sentences

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂-der. Proto-Hellenic *pʰōnā́ Ancient Greek φωνή (phōnḗ)der. English -phone From Ancient Greek φωνή (phōnḗ, “sound, voice, speech, language”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰoh₂neh₂, from *bʰeh₂- (“to speak”); related to fame and fable. Some terms ending in phone, such as textphone, are actually compounds made with phone.

Origin

Source language: Ancient Greek

Word Breakdown

Root: φωνή, *bʰoh₂neh₂

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈfoʊ̯n/
British English: /ˈfəʊ̯n/

Derived Forms

allophone homophone monophone xenophone Afrophone Anglophone Arabophone aragonophone arameophone armenophone Asiophone basquephone

Phrases

-phonic -phony phono-

Frequently Paired Words

phone phono-

Homonyms

phone

Questions

How do you pronounce -phone?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈfoʊ̯n/.
What does -phone mean?: A type of sound.
Where does -phone come from?: It is traced to Ancient Greek.

How to pronounce -phone

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “-phone”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈfoʊ̯n/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “-phone”.
Repeat and practice — Say “-phone” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.