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

arabesque

/ˌæɹ.əˈbɛsk/ noun, verb

Forms arabesques arabesquing arabesqued arabesk

  1. noun (art, architecture, also attributively) An elaborate design of intertwined floral figures or complex geometrical patterns, mainly used in Islamic art and architecture.
  2. noun (music) An ornate composition, especially for the piano.
  3. noun (ballet) A dance position in which the dancer stands on one leg, with the other raised backwards, and the arms outstretched.
  4. noun (by extension, attributively) Elaborate or ornate creations in general.
  5. verb (intransitive) To move in an arabesque motion.
  6. verb (transitive) To decorate with an arabesque pattern.

Etymology

Borrowed from French arabesque, from Italian arabesco, from arabo (“Arab”). By surface analysis, Arab + -esque.

Webster’s 1913

  1. noun A style of ornamentation either painted, inlaid, or carved in low relief. It consists of a pattern in which plants, fruits, foliage, etc., as well as figures of men and animals, real or imaginary, are fantastically interlaced or put together.
  2. adjective Arabian. [Obs.]
  3. adjective Relating to, or exhibiting, the style of ornament called arabesque; as, arabesque frescoes.

Etymology [F. arabesque, fr. It. arabesco, fr. Arabo Arab.]

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