aphthong
|æf-θɒŋ|
🇺🇸
/ˈæfθɔːŋ/
🇬🇧
/ˈæfθɒŋ/
without sound / silent element
Etymology
'aphthong' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'aphthongos', where 'a-' meant 'not' and 'phthongos' meant 'sound' or 'voice'.
'aphthong' was formed from Greek 'aphthongos' and was adopted into learned English usage (via Medieval/Neo-Latin scholarly discussion) as 'aphthong' to describe omitted or unpronounced sounds.
Initially it meant 'not-sound' or 'without voice', and over time the meaning narrowed to refer specifically to omitted or silent sounds (especially in linguistic contexts).
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a sound (often a vowel or letter) that is omitted or not pronounced in speech; an instance of elision or a silent letter.
The aphthong in the word 'knight' is the initial k, which is not pronounced.
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Noun 2
(Rare, archaic or technical) A sound that is incapable of being uttered or a soundless quality; used in older linguistic or philological writings.
Some 19th-century grammars discuss aphthongs as theoretical 'unutterable' elements in certain phonological analyses.
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Last updated: 2025/09/17 08:44