diphthong

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diphthong

/ˈdɪfˌθɒŋ(ɡ)/ UK
/ˈdɪpˌθɒŋ(ɡ)/ UK, proscribed, sometimes
/ˈdɪfˌθɔŋ/ Canada, US
/ˈdɪpˌθɔŋ/ Canada, US, proscribed
/ˈdɪfˌθɑŋ/ cot caught merger
/ˈdɪpˌθɑŋ/ proscribed, sometimes

Rhymes with -ɪfθɔŋ, -ɪpθɔŋ, -ɪfθɑŋ, -ɪpθɑŋ

Where it comes from

PIE word

*dwóh₁

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *dwóh₁

Proto-Indo-European *dwi-

Proto-Hellenic *dwi-

Ancient Greek δι- (di-)

Ancient Greek φθέγγομαι (phthéngomai)

Ancient Greek φθόγγος (phthóngos)

Ancient Greek δίφθογγος (díphthongos)der.

Latin diphthonguslbor.

French diphtongueder.

English diphthong

From French diphtongue, from Late Latin diphthongus, from Ancient Greek δίφθογγος (díphthongos, “two sounds”), from δίς (dís, “twice”) + φθόγγος (phthóngos, “sound”). Displaced native Old English twifeald swēġ, (literally, "twofold swey").

noun diphthongs · dipthong

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.
Similar: gliding vowel
A diaphoneme realized as a two-target vowel in some but not necessarily all dialects.
rare A vowel digraph or ligature. 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.

Translations

Every language

noun complex vowel sound

Español	diptongo
한국어	이중모음 ijungmo'eum
日本語	二重母音 nijū boin
中文	雙元音 /双元音 shuāngyuányīn
हिन्दी	संध्यक्षर sandhyakṣar
Português	ditongo
Français	diphtongue
Deutsch	Diphthong, Doppellaut, Zwielaut
Italiano	dittongo
Ελληνικά	δίφθογγος dífthongos
Română	diftong
Русский	дифто́нг diftóng, двугла́сный dvuglásnyj, двоегла́сный dvojeglásnyj
Tiếng Việt	nguyên âm đôi, nhị trùng âm
العربية	مُصَوِّت مُزْدَوِج muṣawwit muzdawij
עברית	דִּיפְתּוֹנְג diftóng

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MLA

"diphthong." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/diphthong. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

diphthong. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/diphthong

Chicago

"diphthong." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/diphthong.

BibTeX

@misc{diphthong_2026,
  title = {diphthong},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/diphthong},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}