Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

tannoy

/ˈtænɔɪ/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.00 in modern English

Syllables: tan-noy
IPA: /ˈtænɔɪ/

9

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A public address system.

British usage; Colloquial

verb

To transmit, or communicate with, by means of a public address system.

British usage

Example Sentences

"Although the supermarket tannoy was bravely broadcasting Rigoletto, its meat counter was thick with wurst and its wine shelves loaded with Liebfraumilch."
"Terry Putnam, from Weymouth, adds: "Riding home from Bristol a few days ago, as we approached Weymouth the guard announced over the tannoy 'The next station is Weymouth - please remember to take all your luggage and children with you...'""

Etymology

A genericised trademark of Tannoy Ltd, a manufacturer of public address systems. "Tannoy" is a syllabic abbreviation of tantalum + alloy, which was the material used in a type of electrolytic rectifier developed by the company.

Usage

British usage
Colloquial

Inflected Forms

tannoys (plural) tannoys (present, singular) tannoying (participle, present) tannoyed (participle, past) tannoyed (past)

Questions

How do you pronounce tannoy?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈtænɔɪ/.
What does tannoy mean?: A public address system.
Where does tannoy come from?: A genericised trademark of Tannoy Ltd, a manufacturer of public address systems. "Tannoy" is a syllabic abbreviation of tantalum + alloy, which was the material used in a type of electrolytic rectifier developed by the company.

How to pronounce tannoy

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