In linguistics, a monosyllable is a word or utterance of only one syllable.[1] It is most commonly studied in the fields of phonology and morphology and it has no semantic content.[2] The word has originated from the Greek language.[3]
"Yes", "no", "jump", "buy", "heat", "sure", "cough", and "and" are examples of monosyllables.[4][5] Some of the longest monosyllabic words in the English language, all containing nine letters each, are "screeched," "schlepped," "scratched," "scrounged," "scrunched," "stretched," "straights," and "strengths."[6]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "monosyllable". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
- ^ Nordquist, Richard (3 July 2019). "What is a Monosyllable?". ThoughtCo. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
- ^ Bloomfield, Maurice (1888). "The Origin of the Recessive Accent in Greek". The American Journal of Philology. 9 (1). The Johns Hopkins University Press: 1–41. doi:10.2307/287243. hdl:2027/uc2.ark:/13960/t21c1w96h. JSTOR 287243.
- ^ "monosyllable". Macmillan Dictionary. Springer Nature Limited. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
- ^ "monosyllable". Cambridge Dictionary. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
- ^ "What is the longest one-syllable English word?". Archived from the original on April 7, 2020.
External links edit
The dictionary definition of monosyllable at Wiktionary
