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

godfather

UK /ˈɡɒdfɑːðə/ · US /ˈɡɑdfɑðɚ/ noun, verb

Forms godfathers godfathering godfathered

  1. noun (Christianity) A man present at the christening of a baby who promises to help raise the child in a Christian manner; a male godparent who sponsors the baptism of a child.
  2. noun (figurative) Someone who plays a key role in fostering the development of something.
  3. noun (crime) A mafia leader.
  4. noun A small post which is used in repairing a fence. For instance attached to and supporting an existing broken fence post.
  5. verb (transitive, often figuratively) To act as godfather or guardian to.

Synonyms

godpa

Etymology

From Middle English godfader, from Old English godfæder (“godfather”), equivalent to god- + father. Cognate with Old Saxon godfadar (“godfather”), Middle Dutch godvader (“godfather”), Danish gudfader, gudfar (“godfather”), Swedish gudfader, gudfar (“godfather”), Icelandic guðfaðir (“godfather”).

Webster’s 1913

  1. noun A man who becomes sponsor for a child at baptism, and makes himself a surety for its Christian training and instruction.
  2. verb To act as godfather to; to take under one's fostering care.

Etymology [AS. godfæder. Cf. Gossip.]

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