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

sambuca

UK /samˈbʊkə/ · US /sæmˈbukə/ noun

Forms sambucas sambucae sambuke

  1. noun An Italian liqueur made from elderberries and flavoured with licorice, traditionally served with 3 coffee beans that represent health, wealth and fortune (or past, present and future).
  2. noun (music) An ancient form of triangular harp having a very sharp, shrill tone.
  3. noun An ancient type of ship-borne siege engine.

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian sambuca, from Latin sambūcus (“elder tree”), due to a similar 19th century liquor flavored with elderflower. Modern sambuca, which doesn't necessarily have elderberry, started being marketed in 1971.

From Latin sambūca, from Ancient Greek σαμβύκη (sambúkē), ultimately from Aramaic סַבְּכָא (sabbəḵā).

Sources: Wiktionary — from the Wiktionary entry “sambuca”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details