monophthong

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A vowel (in the sense of a sound rather than a letter of the alphabet) that has the same sound throughout its pronunciation, such as the short vowels in "pap", "pep", "pip", "pop" and "pup", as opposed to a diphthong (eg, /aɪ/, the vowel in "pipe") or a triphthong (eg, /aɪə/, the sound in the non-rhotic pronunciation of "pyre").

Pronunciation

/ˈmɒnəfˌθɒŋ(ɡ)/ /ˈmɑnəfˌθɔŋ/ /ˈmɑnəfˌθɑŋ/ /ˈmɑnəpˌθɑŋ/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Knabrupt-monophthong.wav

Word forms

monophthong monophthongs

Etymology

From Ancient Greek μονόφθογγος (monóphthongos), from μόνος (mónos, “single”) + φθόγγος (phthóngos, “sound”).

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