diphthong

American  

[dif-thawng, -thong, dip-] / ˈdɪf θɔŋ, -θɒŋ, ˈdɪp- /

noun

• diphthongs
  plural

1. Phonetics. an unsegmentable, gliding speech sound varying continuously in phonetic quality but held to be a single sound or phoneme and identified by its apparent beginning and ending sound, as the oi- sound of toy or boil.

2. (not in technical use)

   1. a digraph, as the ea of meat.

   2. a ligature, as æ.

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verb (used with or without object)

1. to diphthongize.

diphthong British  

/ ˈdɪfθɒŋ, ˈdɪp- /

noun

1. a vowel sound, occupying a single syllable, during the articulation of which the tongue moves from one position to another, causing a continual change in vowel quality, as in the pronunciation of a in English late, during which the tongue moves from the position of (e) towards ( ɪ )

2. a digraph or ligature representing a composite vowel such as this, as ae in Caesar

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• diphthongal
  adjective
• diphthongic
  adjective
• diphthongous
  adjective
• nondiphthongal
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• diphthongs
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of diphthong

First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English diptonge, from Late Latin diphthongus, from Greek díphthongos literally, “having two sounds,” equivalent to di- di- ¹ + phthóngos “voice, sound”

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Explanation

A diphthong is a sound made by combining two vowels, specifically when it starts as one vowel sound and goes to another, like the oy sound in oil. Diphthong comes from the Greek word diphthongos which means "having two sounds." Notice the di- for "double." So diphthongs are double vowel sounds in words like chair, fear, or pout. If two vowels in a row are the same, as in boot or beer, then it's not a diphthong. Linguists, scholars who study language, analyze diphthongs, which differ from language to language. Ironically, the word diphthong has no diphthongs.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

diphthong diphthongs

Leave it to Cher to rock a diphthong.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 20, 2019

These lines, for example, seem to evoke a police raid on a Vampire Weekend karaoke contest:  Duke seizes Florence & the diphthong town, Quite a surprise to young fops & leeches.

From New York Times ● Jul. 23, 2012

For the rest of his life, Russell wrote under that diphthong.

From Time Magazine Archive

Housman's judgment of that ambitious pagan could be superimposed on the Mailer of Pieces and Pontifications without changing a diphthong: his "besetting sin is the use of words too forcible for his thoughts."

From Time Magazine Archive

Y also went by the board, i taking its place, where used singly, and two vowels, where used as a diphthong.

From Benjamin Franklin; Self-Revealed, Volume II (of 2) A Biographical and Critical Study Based Mainly on his own Writings by Wiliam Cabell Bruce

Even the big diphthongs that my grandfather’s years in the States had tamped down swelled back to their former glory in this company.

From The New Yorker ● Jul. 20, 2019

All of the letters are in lower case and there are no double consonents, but there are "diphthongs, triphthongs, quadriphtongs and even quintiphthongs", which are combined vowel sounds.

From Fox News ● May 15, 2019

Given the text’s large swathes of Italian as Callas parses arias by Bellini, Puccini and Verdi, Ms. Daly has worked hard on her language skills and admits that those diphthongs still give her trouble.

From New York Times ● Jun. 23, 2011

The gag: Schaffer's accent is classic old-style Noo Yawk, all diphthongs and mobster cadences.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 27, 2010

The diphthongs æ and œ are sounded like e: as cædo, pronounced ce'do.

From New Word-Analysis by William Swinton

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