triphthong
Americannoun
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Phonetics. a monosyllabic speech-sound sequence perceived as being made up of three differing vowel qualities, as the pronunciation of our, especially in r-dropping dialects.
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(not in technical use) a trigraph.
noun
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a composite vowel sound during the articulation of which the vocal organs move from one position through a second, ending in a third
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a trigraph representing a composite vowel sound such as this
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of triphthong
1590–1600; < New Latin triphthongus < Medieval Greek tríphthongos with three vowels, equivalent to tri- tri- + phthóngos voice, sound
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
An improper triphthong is a triphthong in which only one or two of the vowels are sounded; as, eau in beauty, iou in anxious.
From The Grammar of English Grammars by Goold Brown
But he is wrong here by his own showing: he should rather have called it a triphthong.
From The Grammar of English Grammars by Goold Brown
The only proper triphthong in English is uoy, as in buoy, buoyant, buoyancy; unless uoi in quoit may be considered a parallel instance.
From The Grammar of English Grammars by Goold Brown
A proper triphthong is a triphthong in which all the vowels are sounded; as, uoy in buoy.
From The Grammar of English Grammars by Goold Brown
The elements which he enumerates are thirty-five; but if oi is not a triphthong, they are to be thirty-six.
From The Grammar of English Grammars by Goold Brown
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
