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

niche

UK /niːʃ/ · US /nɪt͡ʃ/ noun, verb, adjective

Forms niches niching niched nicher nichest

  1. noun (architecture) A cavity, hollow, or recess, generally within the thickness of a wall, for a statue, bust, or other erect ornament.
  2. noun Any similar position, literal or figurative.
  3. noun Specifically, a cremation niche; a columbarium.
  4. noun (ecology) A function within an ecological system to which an organism is especially suited.
  5. noun (by extension) Any position of opportunity for which one is well-suited, such as a particular market in business. “I managed to carve out a niche for myself in the world of investigative journalism.”
  6. noun (Islam) An arrow woven into a prayer rug pointing in the direction of qibla.
  7. verb (transitive) To place in a niche.
  8. verb (transitive, marketing) To specialize in a niche, or particular narrow section of the market.
  9. adjective Pertaining to or intended for a market niche; having specific appeal; obscure. “niche products”

Synonyms

nook specialty specialization recess recession corner ecological niche

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French niche, from Middle French niche, from Old French niche, from nicher (“to make a nest”) (modern French nicher), from Vulgar Latin *nīdicāre, from Latin nīdus (“nest”). Doublet of nidus and nide via Latin and nest via Proto-Indo-European; also related to nyas.

Webster’s 1913

  1. noun A cavity, hollow, or recess, generally within the thickness of a wall, for a statue, bust, or other erect ornament. hence, any similar position, literal or figurative.

Etymology [F., fr. It. nicchia, prop., a shell-like recess in a wall, fr. nicchio a shellfish, mussel, fr. L. mytilus.]

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