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

coffer

UK /ˈkɒfə/ · US /ˈkɔfɚ/ noun, verb, proper noun

Forms coffers coffering coffered copher cophre

  1. noun A strong chest or box used for keeping money or valuables safe.
  2. noun (architecture) An ornamental sunken panel in a ceiling or dome.
  3. noun A temporary watertight structure used during underwater construction of bridges, causeways, ships, etc.
  4. noun A supply or store of money, often belonging to an organization.
  5. noun A trench dug in the bottom of a dry moat, and extending across it, to enable the besieged to defend it with raking fire.
  6. verb (transitive) To put money or valuables in a coffer.
  7. verb (transitive) To decorate something, especially a ceiling, with coffers.
  8. verb (transitive) To panel, frame, or border with a raised protective trim.
  9. proper noun A surname.

Synonyms

strongbox caisson cofferdam lacuna

Etymology

From Middle English cofre, coffre, from Old French cofre, coffre, from Latin cophinus (“basket”), from Ancient Greek κόφινος (kóphinos, “basket”). Doublet of coffin. Cognate with German Koffer (“a suitcase”).

Webster’s 1913

  1. noun A casket, chest, or trunk; especially, one used for keeping money or other valuables. Chaucer.
  2. noun Fig.: Treasure or funds; --usually in the plural.
  3. verb To put into a coffer. Bacon.
  4. verb To secure from leaking, as a chaft, by ramming clay behind the masonry or timbering. Raymond.

Etymology [OF. cofre, F. coffre, L. cophinus basket, fr. Gr. Coffin, n.]

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