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

water rat

noun

Forms water rats waterrat water-rat

  1. noun (US) Any of various aquatic or semi-aquatic rodents from Florida and southern Georgia, especially Neofiber alleni; the muskrat.
  2. noun (Australia) A water mouse, especially, the rakali, Hydromys chrysogaster.
  3. noun (informal) A European water vole (Arvicola amphibius, formerly Arvicola terrestris).
  4. noun (US, slang) A petty thief or waterfront ruffian.
  5. noun (slang) A person fond of water sports.
  6. noun (slang, Australia) A member of the water police.

Synonyms

water dog water vole Arvicola amphibius

Etymology

From water + rat. Compare Saterland Frisian Woaterrotte, West Frisian wetterrôt, Dutch waterrat, German Low German Waterrötte, Waterrött, German Wasserratte, Danish vandrotte, Swedish vattenråtta, Icelandic vatnsrotta.

Webster’s 1913

  1. (a) The water vole. See under Vole.
  2. A thief on the water; a pirate.

Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “water rat”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details