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

ma'am

/ˈmæm/ noun, verb

Forms ma'ams ma'aming ma'amed mum

  1. noun A form of address for a woman: contraction of madam.
  2. noun A polite and formal way to address a woman. “Ma'am, will you be attending the dinner this evening?”
  3. noun A respectful term of address to a woman of higher rank or position. “– Sergeant, have the platoon in formation and ready for inspection at 0800. – Aye aye, ma'am.”
  4. noun (archaic) A title for a married woman. “That is Ma'am Smith, the matriarch of the Smith families.”
  5. noun (archaic, US, education) A female schoolteacher; a schoolmarm.
  6. verb (transitive, informal) To address (a woman) as "ma'am".

Synonyms

'm marm ball and chain better half boss bride dutch 'er indoors frow geezer her indoors lady little woman little lady memsahib missus old lady old woman trouble trouble and strife dame madam gentlewoman

Etymology

The noun is a contraction of madam, and represents a regional pronunciation of that word in the United Kingdom. The verb is derived from the noun.

Webster’s 1913

  1. noun Madam; my lady; --a colloquial contraction of madam often used in direct address, and sometimes as an appellation.

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