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

courtship

UK /ˈkɔːt.ʃɪp/ · US /ˈkɔɹt.ʃɪp/ noun

Forms courtships

  1. noun (obsolete) The ceremonial performance of acts of courtesy to a dignitary, etc.
  2. noun The act of wooing a person to enter into a romantic relationship or marriage; hence, the period during which a couple fall in love before their marriage.
  3. noun (by extension) The behaviour exhibited by an animal to attract a mate.
  4. noun (figuratively) The act of trying to solicit a favour or support from someone.
  5. noun (countable, uncountable, obsolete) Elegance or propriety of manners fitting for a court; courtliness; (by extension) courteous or polite behaviour; courtesy.
  6. noun (uncountable, obsolete) The pursuit of being a courtier, such as exercising diplomacy, finesse, etc.; also, the artifices and intrigues of a court; courtcraft.

Synonyms

dating loveship suit wooing courting

Etymology

From court (“demonstration of such respect as is traditionally given at court; attention directed to a person in power; behaviour designed to gain favour; politeness of manner; civility towards someone”) + -ship (suffix forming nouns indicating a property or state of being).

Webster’s 1913

  1. noun The act of paying court, with the intent to solicit a favor.
  2. noun The act of wooing in love; solicitation of woman to marriage.

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