monophthong

English - English

Definition of monophthong in English English dictionary

A vowel (in the sense of a sound rather than a letter of the alphabet) that has the same sound throughout its pronunciation, such as the short vowels in "pap", "pep", "pip", "pop" and "pup", as opposed to a diphthong (eg, /aɪ/, the vowel in "pipe") or a triphthong (eg, /aɪə/, the sound in the non-rhotic pronunciation of "pyre")

A combination of two written vowels pronounced as one; a digraph

A vowel (in the sense of a sound rather than a letter of the alphabet) that has the same sound throughout its pronunciation, such as the short vowels in "pap", "pep", "pip", "pop" and "pup", as opposed to a diphthong (eg, /aɪ/, the vowel in "pipe") or a triphthong (eg, /aɪə/, the sound in the non-rhotic pronunciation of "pyre")

{i} vowel with a single sound; digraph, two letters that together produce one sound

A single uncompounded vowel sound

Hyphenation

mon·oph·thong

Etymology

() From Ancient Greek μονόφθογγος (monophthongos), from μόνος (monos, “single”) + φθόγγος (phthongos, “sound”).