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

southpaw

/ˈsaʊθˌpɔː/ noun

Forms southpaws south paw

  1. noun (informal) One who is left-handed, especially in sports.
  2. noun (baseball) A left-handed pitcher. “Since home plate is generally in the southwest corner to avoid glare in the batter's eyes, a southpaw's pitching hand is to the south.”
  3. noun A boxer who leads with the right hand and guards with the left.

Synonyms

left-hander lefty left-handed pitcher left hander lefthander

Antonyms

northpaw right-hander

Etymology

From south + paw. The original derivation is unclear: although now best known from the sport of baseball, the term is first attested in 1813, before baseball was founded. Suggested theories include:
* Evidence suggests the term existed before baseball, being used in the 1840s to describe a left-handed punch or "paw" in boxing. A 1848 political cartoon described a "south paw" blow in this context.
* Early 19th-century ballparks were often built with home plate on the west side and the pitcher's mound on the east to prevent the sun from being in the batter's eyes. Consequently, a left-handed pitcher's arm would be facing the southern side of the diamond. However, the term was originally used to refer to position players rather than pitchers.

Webster’s 1913

  1. adjective Using the left hand in pitching; said of a pitcher. [Cant]
  2. noun A pitcher who pitches with the left hand. [Cant]

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