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

alley

/ˈæl.i/ noun, proper noun

Forms alleys Aley

  1. noun A narrow street or passageway, especially one through the middle of a block giving access to the rear of lots of buildings. “The parking lot to my friend's apartment building is in the alley.”
  2. noun (baseball) The area between the outfielders. “He hit one deep into the alley.”
  3. noun (bowling) An establishment where bowling is played.
  4. noun (bowling) An elongated wooden strip of floor along which a bowling ball is rolled.
  5. noun (tennis) The extra area between the sidelines or tramlines on a tennis court that is used for doubles matches.
  6. noun A walk or passage in a garden or park, bordered by rows of trees or bushes.
  7. noun A passageway between rows of pews in a church.
  8. noun (perspective drawing) Any passage having the entrance represented as wider than the exit, so as to give the appearance of length.
  9. noun A marble (small ball used in games).
  10. proper noun A surname.
  11. proper noun A female given name.

Synonyms

alleyway gap bowling alley lane backs bunnyrun chare chore close ennog entry fold gangway gant gennel ginnel gunnel gitty gully gullyway back street skittle alley

Etymology

From Middle English aleye, from Anglo-Norman aleie, feminine of alé, past participle of aler (“to go”) (French aller). Doublet of allée.

Diminutive of alabaster, from which they were once made.

Webster’s 1913

  1. noun A narrow passage; especially a walk or passage in a garden or park, bordered by rows of trees or bushes; a bordered way. I know each lane and every alley green. Milton.
  2. noun A narrow passage or way in a city, as distinct from a public street. Gay.
  3. noun A choice taw or marble. Dickens.

Etymology [OE. aley, alley, OF. alée, F. allée, a going, passage, fr. OE. aler, F. aller, to go; of uncertain origin: cf. Prov. anar, It. andare, Sp. andar.]

Etymology [A contraction of alabaster, of which it was originally made.]

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