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

protean

UK /ˈpɹəʊ.tɪ.ən/ · US /ˈpɹoʊ.tɪ.ən/ adjective, noun

Forms proteans

  1. adjective Exceedingly variable; readily assuming different shapes or forms. “An amoeba is a protean animalcule.”
  2. noun (biochemistry) A protein that has been slightly modified by water, dilute acid, or enzymes, but not modified to the extent of a metaprotein.
  3. adjective (mythology) Of or relating to the god Proteus in Greek mythology.
  4. adjective (astronomy) Of or relating to the irregular Neptunian moon named for Proteus.

Synonyms

multiform polymorphic polymorphous shapeshifting chameleon chameleonic chameleonlike diverse multiversant pluriform variform

Etymology

From Proteus + -an, referring to the Greek warden of sea-beasts, renowned for his ability to change shape.

Webster’s 1913

  1. adjective Of or pertaining to Proteus; characteristic of Proteus. " Protean transformations." Cudworth.
  2. adjective Exceedingly variable; readily assuming different shapes or forms; as, an amoeba is a protean animalcule.

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