English Explanatory Dictionary

I before E, except after C

English dictionary entry

Meanings

proverb
  1. In English words that contain the letters I and E together, the I tends to come before the E (ie), except in cases when the two are preceded by the letter C, in which case the E comes before the I (cei).
noun
  1. Alternative letter-case form of I before E, except after C.

Word forms

I before E, except after C

Etymology

Formed because of the rhyme between the names of the letters E and C, /iː/ and /siː/. The "rule" was invented in the 19th century.

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 I Russian dictionary Dahl dictionary