digraph

American

[dahy-graf, -grahf] / ˈdaɪ græf, -grɑf /

noun

a pair of letters representing a single speech sound, as ea in meat or th in path.

digraph British

/ ˈdaɪɡrɑːf, daɪˈɡræfɪk, -ɡræf /

noun

a combination of two letters or characters used to represent a single speech sound such as gh in English tough Compare ligature diphthong

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Etymology

Origin of digraph

First recorded in 1780–90; di- ¹ + -graph

Vocabulary lists containing digraph

It Takes Two: Di

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Example Sentences

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May the terms Digraph, etc., be used with the Consonants?

From 1001 Questions and Answers on Orthography and Reading by Hathaway, B. A.

Digraph, dī′graf, n. two letters expressing but one sound, as ph in digraph.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023