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

miniature

UK /ˈmɪn.ɪ.tʃə/ · US /ˈmɪn.(i)ə.tʃəɹ/ noun, adjective, verb

Forms miniatures miniaturing miniatured

  1. noun Greatly diminished size or form; reduced scale.
  2. noun A small version of something; a model of reduced scale. “There was a miniature of a whaling ship in a glass bottle over the mantelpiece.”
  3. noun A small, highly detailed painting, a portrait miniature.
  4. noun The art of painting such highly detailed miniature works.
  5. noun An illustration in an illuminated manuscript.
  6. noun A musical composition which is short in duration. “Sacha composed a miniature for strings as a final project at the conservatory.”
  7. noun (chess) A chess game which is concluded with very few moves.
  8. noun (roleplaying games, board games) A token in a game representing a unit or character. “Jack had dozens of miniatures of Napoleonic footsoldiers painted in detailed period regalia for his wargames.”
  9. adjective Smaller than normal. “I find miniature dogs annoying; they seem to yap more than full-size dogs.”
  10. verb (transitive) To make smaller than normal; to reproduce in miniature.

Synonyms

illumination toy

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian miniatura (“manuscript illumination”), from miniare (“to illuminate”), from Latin miniō (“to colour red”), from minium (“red lead, minium”). Not related to minimum, minor or min (which are all from a different root, *mi-n-), though the sense development may have been influenced by association with them or sound symbolism.

Webster’s 1913

  1. noun Originally, a painting in colors such as those in mediæval manuscripts; in modern times, any very small painting, especially a portrait.
  2. noun Greatly diminished size or form; reduced scale.
  3. adjective Being on a small; much reduced from the reality; as, a miniature copy.
  4. verb To represent or depict in a small compass, or on a small scale.

Etymology [It. miniatura, fr. L. miniare. See Miniate, v.,Minium.]

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