diphthong
[ dif-thawng, -thong, dip- ]
/ ˈdɪf θɔŋ, -θɒŋ, ˈdɪp- /
noun
Phonetics.
an unsegmentable, gliding speech sound varying continuously in phonetic quality but held to be a single sound or phoneme and identified by its apparent beginning and ending sound, as the oi-sound of toy or boil.
(not in technical use)
- a digraph, as the ea of meat.
- a ligature, as æ.
verb (used with or without object)
to diphthongize.
Origin of diphthong
1425–75; late Middle English
diptonge < Late Latin
diphthongus < Greek
díphthongos literally, having two sounds (
di-
di-1 +
phthóngos voice, sound)
OTHER WORDS FROM diphthong
diph·thon·gal [dif-thawng-guh l, -thong-, dip-] /dɪfˈθɔŋ gəl, -ˈθɒŋ-, dɪp-/, diph·thon·gic, diph·thon·gous, adjective non·diph·thon·gal, adjectiveWords nearby diphthong
Example sentences from the Web for diphthong
British Dictionary definitions for diphthong
diphthong
/ (ˈdɪfθɒŋ, ˈdɪp-) /
noun
a vowel sound, occupying a single syllable, during the articulation of which the tongue moves from one position to another, causing a continual change in vowel quality, as in the pronunciation of a in English late, during which the tongue moves from the position of (e) towards (ɪ)
a digraph or ligature representing a composite vowel such as this, as ae in Caesar
Derived forms of diphthong
diphthongal, adjectiveWord Origin for diphthong
C15: from Late Latin
diphthongus, from Greek
diphthongos, from
di-
1 +
phthongos sound