English Explanatory Dictionary

diphthong

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A complex vowel sound that begins with the sound of one vowel and ends with the sound of another vowel, in the same syllable.
  2. A diaphoneme realized as a two-target vowel in some but not necessarily all dialects.
  3. A vowel digraph or ligature.

Pronunciation

/ˈdɪfˌθɒŋ(ɡ)/ /ˈdɪpˌθɒŋ(ɡ)/ /ˈdɪpˌθɔŋ/ /ˈdɪfˌθɔŋ/ /ˈdɪpˌθɑŋ/ /ˈdɪfˌθɑŋ/ en-us-diphthong.ogg en-ca-diphthong.ogg

Word forms

diphthong diphthongs dipthong

Etymology

PIE word *dwóh₁ Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁ Proto-Indo-European *dwi- Proto-Hellenic *dwi- Ancient Greek δῐ- (dĭ-) 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”).

Synonyms

gliding vowel

Related words

apothegm glide hiatus ligature polyphthong

Derived words

diphthongal diphthongation diphthongic diphthongization diphthongisation diphthongize diphthongise diphthongoid diphthongy falling diphthong murmur diphthong rising diphthong spurious diphthong
This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.
Back to search All on D Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary