Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

gwine

/ˈɡwaɪn/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.37 in modern English

Syllables: gwine
IPA: /ˈɡwaɪn/

9

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

1

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

present participle of go

Archaic

Example Sentences

"Well, I want spectin nothin; only Sam, he's a gwine to de river with some colts, and he said I could go long with him; so I jes put my things together."
"“Come on, you Snowflake,” he called, cracking his long whip. “You're gwine to get your sugar, but you-all is gwine to earn it first.”"

Etymology

Phonetic rendition of going; compare Gullah gwine. This particular form apparently results from the vocalic sequence in going (Early Modern English /ˈɡoː.ɪŋ/, /ˈɡoː.ɪn/) coalescing into a diphthong that was identified with reflexes of Middle English /ui̯/, which developed into /waɪ/ in some dialects; compare English traditional dialect pronunciations of point and toil as /ˈpwaɪnt/, /ˈtwaɪl/ (see twile). In other dialects, Middle English /ui̯/ instead developed into /aɪ/, resulting in the form gine; compare bile (“boil”), heist, rile.

Usage

Archaic

Inflected Forms

gine (alternative) gwyne (alternative)

Questions

How do you pronounce gwine?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɡwaɪn/.
What does gwine mean?: present participle of go
Where does gwine come from?: Phonetic rendition of going; compare Gullah gwine. This particular form apparently results from the vocalic sequence in going (Early Modern English /ˈɡoː.ɪŋ/, /ˈɡoː.ɪn/) coalescing into a diphthong that was identified with reflexes of Middle English /ui̯/, which developed into /waɪ/ in some dialects; compare English traditional dialect pronunciations of point and toil as /ˈpwaɪnt/, /ˈtwaɪl/ (see twile). In other dialects, Middle English /ui̯/ instead developed into /aɪ/, resulting in the form gine; compare bile (“boil”), heist, rile.

How to pronounce gwine

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “gwine”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈɡwaɪn/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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