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

cuddle

/ˈkʌd.l̩/ noun, verb

Forms cuddles cuddling cuddled

  1. noun (US) An intimate physical embrace, typically while lying (or sitting): a snuggle, an instance of lying together snugly, as one might with a partner (more intimate than a hug, and typically of longer duration).
  2. noun (UK) An affectionate embrace, a hug, such as is given to family members and close friends (less intimate than a snuggle, and typically of shorter duration). “Give me a cuddle, Paul; it'll cheer you up.”
  3. verb (US, intransitive, transitive) To lie together snugly (with someone), in an intimate physical embrace; to snuggle. “The young lovers cuddled on the couch.”
  4. verb (UK, intransitive, transitive) To embrace (someone) affectionately; to hug (someone) closely.
  5. verb (transitive) To cradle (e.g. a baby) in one's arms so as to give comfort, warmth. “She cuddled the infant before bedtime.”
  6. verb To lie close or snug; to crouch; to nestle.

Synonyms

nestle snuggle nest nuzzle draw close

Etymology

Origin uncertain, but probably from a frequentative form of Middle English *cudden, cuththen, keththen (“to embrace”), a variant of cuthen, kuthen, kithen (“to be familiar with, make known”), from Middle English cuth, couth (“known, familiar”), equivalent to couth + -le. Cognate with Middle Dutch kudden (“to come together, flock together”). More at couth.

Webster’s 1913

  1. verb To She cuddles low beneath the brake; Nor would she stay, nor dares she fly. Prior.
  2. verb To embrace closely; to foundle. Forby.
  3. noun A close embrace.

Etymology [Prob. for couthle, fr. couth known; cf. OE. kuppen to cuddle, or cu to make friends with. SeeCouth, Uncouth, Can.]

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