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

myrmidon

UK /ˈmɜː.mɪˌdɒn/ · US /ˈmɝ.mɪˌdɑn/ noun, proper noun

Forms myrmidons

  1. noun A soldier or a subordinate civil officer who executes orders of a superior without protest or pity (sometimes applied to bailiffs, constables, etc).
  2. noun (Greek mythology) One of a fierce tribe or troop who accompanied Achilles, their king, in the Trojan War.
  3. proper noun (Greek mythology) The ancestral hero of the Myrmidon tribe, son of Zeus and Eurymedusa.

Synonyms

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

Etymology

From Myrmidon, from Latin Myrmidones, from Ancient Greek Μυρμιδόνες (Murmidónes).

From Latin Myrmidones, from Ancient Greek Μυρμιδόνες (Murmidónes), a tribe of warriors led by Achilles to the Trojan War. Folk etymology in Ovid's time derived the tribe's name from μυρμηδών (murmēdṓn, “ant-nest”), from μύρμηξ (múrmēx, “ant”)).

Webster’s 1913

  1. noun One of a fierce tribe or troop who accompained Achilles, their king, to the Trojan war.
  2. noun A soldier or a subordinate civil officer who executes cruel orders of a superior without protest or pity; --sometimes applied to bailiffs, constables, etc. Thackeray.

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