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.

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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

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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

With messages in English, for example, the pairing that turns up most often may well represent “TH,” the most common digraph in ordinary English.

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