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diphthong

dipht·hong

UK/ˈdɪfˌθɒŋ(ɡ)/ US/ˈdɪpˌθɒŋ(ɡ)/ uncommon rare

noun

1.

a vowel sound that starts near the articulatory position for one vowel and moves toward the position for another

Origin

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").

Phrases

  • falling diphthong
  • murmur diphthong
  • rising diphthong
  • spurious diphthong

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.