Diphthong
noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 A complex vowel sound that begins with the sound of one vowel and ends with the sound of another vowel, in the same syllable.
"In Lang Belta vowels usually appear preceding or following a consonant (see previous examples), and as of now no occurrence of diphthongs or triphthongs has been attested."
- 2 a vowel sound that starts near the articulatory position for one vowel and moves toward the position for another wordnet
- 3 A diaphoneme realized as a two-target vowel in some but not necessarily all dialects.
- 4 A vowel digraph or ligature. rare
"And he might have written the name, also, with the diphthong æ, as well as the single vowel, in the initial syllable, throughout all the preceding forms."
Example
More examples"Many among us are not familiar with diphthongs but they are found in every phrase, sentence and paragraph. Question: How important are they in the Zamboangueño Chavacano language and what does "diphthong" mean? Answer: They are very important! Diphthongs are combinations of two vowels pronounced together in the same syllable, which produce a new distinct sound."
Etymology
PIE word *dwóh₁ From French diphtongue, from Late Latin diphthongus, from Ancient Greek δίφθογγος (díphthongos, “two sounds”), from δίς (dís, “twice”) + φθόγγος (phthóngos, “sound”).
Related phrases
More for "diphthong"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.