Klryz
Pronunciation guide: IPA symbols, stress and word endings

Vowels

iːseeɪsite / ɛbedæcat
ɑːfatherɒhot (UK)ɔːlawʊput
uːtooʌcupɜːbirdəabout
eɪdayaɪmyɔɪboyaʊnow
əʊ / oʊgo (UK / US)ɪəneareəhairʊətour

Consonants that look unusual

θthinðthisʃsheʒmeasure
tʃchurchdʒjudgeŋsingjyes

p b t d k g f v s z h m n l r w sound as in ordinary English spelling.

Marks

  • ˈ main stress, before the stressed syllable: /ˈwɔːtə/ water · ˌ lighter (secondary) stress: /ˌʌndəˈstænd/ understand
  • ː a long vowel · (r) an r said only in accents that pronounce it (most American, Scottish, Irish)

Common word endings

  • -s / -es (plurals; he/she form of verbs): /s/ after voiceless sounds (cats), /z/ after voiced (dogs), /ɪz/ after s, z, sh, ch, j sounds (buses, watches). Spelling: -es after s, x, z, ch, sh; consonant + y → -ies (city → cities).
  • -ed (past): /t/ after voiceless sounds (walked), /d/ after voiced (played), /ɪd/ after t or d (wanted). Spelling: love → loved, stop → stopped, carry → carried.
  • -ing: make → making, run → running, see → seeing.
  • Irregular: go, went, gone · be, was, been · see, saw, seen · man → men · child → children · mouse → mice.
  • Older (King James) forms: -eth = -s (he loveth = he loves) · -est with “thou” (thou lovest) · spake = spoke.

English Dictionary · 107,383 entries · Sources & licences

valentine

/ˈvaləntaɪn/ noun, proper noun

Forms valentines

  1. noun An expression of affection, especially romantic affection, usually in the form of greeting card, gift, or message given the object of one's affection, especially on February 14th. “Such an extravagant valentine was unexpected.”
  2. noun A person to whom a valentine is given or from whom it is received, especially on February 14th. “Won't you be my valentine?”
  3. proper noun Saint Valentine, a 3rd-century Christian martyr.
  4. proper noun Synonym of Valentinus, a 2nd-century Egyptian gnostic.
  5. proper noun A male given name from Latin in quiet but steady use since the 16th century.
  6. proper noun A female given name from Latin occasionally borrowed from French.
  7. proper noun An English and Scottish surname derived from the male given name.
  8. proper noun A census-designated place in Mohave County, Arizona.
  9. proper noun An unincorporated community in Johnson Township, LaGrange County, Indiana.
  10. proper noun A historic neighbourhood of Kansas City, Missouri.

Synonyms

Valentine's Valentinus

Etymology

From Saint Valentine's Day (“day of celebration of romantic love”).

From Latin Valentīnus, a patronymic from Valēns (Roman cognomen), itself nominalized from vālens (“strong, healthy”) + -īnus (“-ine”). Doublet of Valentinus, Valentino, Valentina, and Valentini.

Webster’s 1913

  1. noun A sweetheart chosen on St. Valentine's Day.
  2. noun A letter containing professions of love, or a missive of a sentimental, comic, or burlesque character, sent on St. Valentine's Day. St. Valentine's Day, a day sacred to St. Valentine; the 14th of February. It was a very old notion, alluded to by Shakespeare, that on this day birds begin to mate. Hence, perhaps, arose the custom of sending love tokens at that time.

Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “valentine”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details