digraph

American  

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

noun

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

---

digraph British  

/ ˈdaɪɡrɑːf, daɪˈɡræfɪk, -ɡræf /

noun

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

---

Other Word Forms

• digraphic adjective
• digraphically adverb

Etymology

Origin of digraph

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

Example Sentences

Robinson, 80, emphasized the digraph “ch” sound and inadvertently concocted a made-for-the-internet viral moment, pronouncing it “Cha-NOOK-ah.”

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 15, 2020

In Week 1303, the Empress asked the Losers to create new words by replacing a two-letter block called a digraph with another digraph.

From Washington Post • Nov. 21, 2018

Four weeks ago, the Empress asked the Greater Loser Community to come up with new terms in which a digraph — a two-letter single-sound block — was replaced with another digraph.

From Washington Post • Nov. 21, 2018

This week: Replace a digraph in an existing word or phrase with another digraph to make a new term, as in Jeff’s own examples above, and describe the result.

From Washington Post • Oct. 25, 2018

While there are only 26 letters in the English alphabet, there are 676 possible pairings, and the meaning of each letter in a digraph depends on how it is paired.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield