DIPHTHONG

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does diphthong mean? 

• DIPHTHONG (noun)
  The noun DIPHTHONG has 1 sense:

1. a vowel sound that starts near the articulatory position for one vowel and moves toward the position for another

  Familiarity information: DIPHTHONG used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DIPHTHONG (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A vowel sound that starts near the articulatory position for one vowel and moves toward the position for another

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("diphthong" is a kind of...):

vowel; vowel sound (a speech sound made with the vocal tract open)

Derivation:

diphthongize (change from a simple vowel to a diphthong)

 Context examples 

In English, ‹a› by itself usually denotes the near-open front unrounded vowel (/æ/) as in pad, the open back unrounded vowel (/ɑː/) as in father, or, in concert with a later orthographic vowel, the diphthong /eɪ/ as in ace and major, due to effects of the great vowel shift.

(A, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

And then you slur by dropping initial letters and diphthongs. 'T-h-e-m' spells 'them.' You pronounce it—oh, well, it is not necessary to go over all of them. What you need is the grammar.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)