triphthong

English

Etymology

From the Ancient Greek τρίφθογγος (tríphthongos, “triphthong”, adjectivally “having three voices”), from τρία (tría, “three”) + φθόγγος (phthóngos, “sound”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈtɹɪfθɒŋ(ɡ)/, /ˈtɹɪpθɒŋ(ɡ)/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈtɹɪfθɔŋ/, /ˈtɹɪpθɔŋ/
• (CA; US, in accents with the cot-caught merger) IPA^(key): /ˈtɹɪfθɑŋ/, /ˈtɹɪpθɑŋ/

Noun

triphthong (plural triphthongs)

1. A monosyllabic vowel combination usually involving a quick but smooth movement from one vowel to another that passes over a third one.

Derived terms

• triphthongal

Translations

monosyllabic vowel combination involving movement from one vowel to another

• Armenian: եռաբարբառ (hy) (eṙabarbaṙ)
• Catalan: triftong m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 三合元音 (sānhé yuányīn), 三元音 (sānyuányīn)

• Dutch: drieklank (nl) m, triftong (nl) m, f
• Faroese: tríljóð n
• Finnish: triftongi (fi)
• French: triphtongue (fr) f
• German: Triphthong (de) m

• Hungarian: hármashangzó, triftongus
• Italian: trittongo m
• Japanese: 三重音字 (さんじゅうおんじ, sanjū onji), 三重字 (さんじゅうじ, sanjūji)
• Latvian: triftongs m
• Portuguese: tritongo (pt) m
• Russian: трифто́нг (ru) m (triftóng)
• Slovak: trojhláska f
• Welsh: trisain f

See also

• diphthong