Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A complex speech sound or glide that begins with one vowel and gradually changes to another vowel within the same syllable, as (oi) in boil or (ī) in fine.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A coalition or union of two vowels pronounced in one syllable.
- To sound as a diphthong; diphthongize.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb rare To form or pronounce as a diphthong; diphthongize.
- noun A coalition or union of two vowel sounds pronounced in one syllable; as,
ou inout ,oi innoise ; -- called aproper diphthong . - noun A vowel digraph; a union of two vowels in the same syllable, only one of them being sounded; as,
ai inrain ,eo inpeople ; -- called animproper diphthong .
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun phonetics A complex
vowel sound that begins with the sound of one vowel and ends with the sound of another vowel, in the samesyllable . - noun rare A vowel
digraph orligature .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a vowel sound that starts near the articulatory position for one vowel and moves toward the position for another
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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A diphthong is the gliding sound of combining vowels, as in the oy in the head-smacking Yiddish oy veh.
The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time William Safire 2004
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A diphthong is the gliding sound of combining vowels, as in the oy in the head-smacking Yiddish oy veh.
The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time William Safire 2004
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A diphthong is the union of _two_ vowels, pronounced by a single impulse of the voice; as _oi_ in voice, _ou_ in sound.
English Grammar in Familiar Lectures Samuel Kirkham
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When one syllable of a word ends with a vowel, and the next syllable begins with the same vowel, the hyphen is placed between the syllables to indicate that the two vowels do not form a diphthong, that is, that they should not be pronounced together.
"Stops", Or How to Punctuate A Practical Handbook for Writers and Students Paul Allardyce
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For example, when you encounter the "eye" diphthong in your words, sustain your voice on the first pure vowel in the diphthong, which is "ah".
MasterclassLady.Com 2009
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He could not reconcile this kind of diphthong living with his notions of piety.
A Circuit Rider's Wife Corra Harris 1902
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Apropos of that -- we have a 'diphthong' also in this part of the world -- not a _Greek_, but a _Spanish_ one -- do you understand me?
Life of Lord Byron, Vol. 5 (of 6) With His Letters and Journals George Gordon Byron Byron 1806
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All nasty nouns should be replaced by the word "diphthong".
Mamarazzi 2010
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Apropos of that ” we have a 'diphthong' also in this part of the world ” not a Greek, but a Spanish one ” do you understand me? ” which is about to blow up the whole alphabet.
Life of Lord Byron With His Letters And Journals Byron, George G 1854
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Many dictionaries and textbooks use/e/for both the diphthong and the single vowel, but in most varieties of AmE the vowel in “egg” is higher than in “bay”, so they need different symbols.
rolig commented on the word diphthong
I keep wanting to pronounce this "dip thong", which is rather funny really.
December 2, 2007
sionnach commented on the word diphthong
This is a condition best treated by an opthalmologist.
December 2, 2007
sonofgroucho commented on the word diphthong
Ahhhhhhhhhh.. I see it now!
December 2, 2007
reesetee commented on the word diphthong
Or an ophthalmologist. ;-)
December 3, 2007
sarra commented on the word diphthong
in an amp(h)itheatre!
December 3, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word diphthong
Or diphtheria...
December 4, 2007
johnmperry commented on the word diphthong
... phthisis ... treatable with a phthalein
June 20, 2008
skipvia commented on the word diphthong
Thanks for the new fodder for this list, jmp.
June 20, 2008
super-logos commented on the word diphthong
Dip your thong in water and you will have a wet article of undergear.
August 9, 2008