Diphthongise

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To alter a single vowel sound so that it glides into a second vowel sound within the same syllable
2. Turning a pure monophthong into a gliding two-part vowel sound during pronunciation
3. Making a simple vowel become a diphthong by shifting its quality partway through the articulation

Etymology: "Diphthongise" is the British spelling of "diphthongize," and it is built from two parts that both reach back to Greek. The first part, "diphthong," comes from Greek "diphthongos," meaning "having two sounds" or "two-sounded," from "di-" meaning "two" and "phthongos," meaning "sound" or "voice." A diphthong is a vowel that glides from one sound into another within a single syllable, as in the vowel of "boy" or "cow." The second part, "-ise" (or "-ize"), is a suffix that turns a noun into a verb meaning "to make into" or "to treat in a certain way." Put the two together and "diphthongise" means to turn a single vowel into a diphthong, or to pronounce a vowel as a glide between two sounds. The verb is a straightforward formation from the noun, so its history is essentially the history of its parts.

Synonyms: diphthongize

Antonyms: monophthongize