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

minion

/ˈmɪnjən/ noun, adjective

Forms minions

  1. noun A loyal servant of another, usually a more powerful being. “The archvillain deployed his minions to simultaneously rob every bank in the city.”
  2. noun A sycophantic follower.
  3. noun (uncountable, typography, printing) The size of type between nonpareil and brevier, standardized as 7-point.
  4. noun (obsolete) A loved one; one highly esteemed and favoured.
  5. noun (obsolete) An ancient form of ordnance with a calibre of about three inches.
  6. adjective (obsolete) Favoured, beloved; "pet".

Synonyms

disciple follower acolyte adjutant aide bootlicker flunkey footman satrap henchman hireling inferior lackey lap dog lickspittle man Friday myrmidon poodle retainer right-hand man

Etymology

First use appears c. 1490, from Middle French mignon (“lover, royal favourite, darling”), from Old French mignon (“dainty, pleasing, gentle, kind”), from Frankish *minnju (“love, friendship, affection, memory”), from Proto-Germanic *minjō (“affectionate thought, care”), from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to think”). Doublet of mignon.

Webster’s 1913

  1. noun Minimum. [Obs.] Burton.
  2. noun A loved one; one highly esteemed and favored; --in a good sense.
  3. noun An obsequious or servile dependent or agent of another; a fawning favorite. Sir J. Davies.
  4. adjective Fine; trim; dainty. [Obs.] "Their... minion dancing." Fryth.

Etymology [F. mignon, fr. OHG. minni love, G. minne; akin to E. mind. See Mind, and cf. Mignonette.]

Etymology [See 2d Minion.]

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