diphthong

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“
«A syllable is long a. If it contains a long vowel or a diphthong, as «cū´-r poe´-nae», «aes-tā´-te b. If it ends in a consonant which is followed by another consonant, as «cor´-pus», «mag´-nus NOTE.

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Definitions (6)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. 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.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (2)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (2)

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Examples (50)

  • Vuei is a descending diphthong, the ue representing the French eu . —  Frederic Mistral
  • And often these days the diphthong was changed to a single e, as in modern spelling of mediaeval. —  The Third Wexford Omnibus
  • Oddly enough, another word containing the same diphthong is my very favorite: "foible". —  cygnoir.net
  • And the successive vowels should not be treated as a diphthong, though some small degree of slurring between them is inevitable. —  Ask MetaFilter
  • 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 Co-operative; co-ordinate; pre-eminently; re-establish re-echo In the same way the hyphen sometimes ensures that two consonants shall be pronounced separately; as in "book-keeping," "shell-less cock-crow," "sword-dance LXVIII. —  "Stops", Or How to Punctuate A Practical Handbook for Writers and Students
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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English diptonge, from Old French diptongue, from Late Latin diphthongus, from Greek diphthongos : di-, two; see di-1 + phthongos, sound.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. Formerly also dipthong; = French diphthongue = Provencal diptonge = Sp.diptongo = Portuguese diphthongo, ditongo = Italian dittongo = Dutch diphthongus = German diphthong = Danish Swedish diftongo, from Late Latin diphthongus, = from Gr.δίφθογγος, also δίφθογγον, a diphthong, feminine and neuter respectively of δίφθογγος, with two sounds, from δι-, two-, + φθόγγος, voice, sound, from φθέγγεσθαι, utter a sound.
 

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/ˈdɪpθɔŋ/
by American Heritage
by Lee Davis-Thalbourne

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