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

deacon

/ˈdiːkən/ noun, verb, proper noun

Forms deacons deaconing deaconed Deakin

  1. noun (early Christianity) A designated minister of charity in the early Church (see Acts 6:1-6).
  2. noun (Catholicism, Lutheranism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, Church of the East) A clergyman ranked directly below a priest, with duties of helping the priests and carrying out parish work.
  3. noun (Anglicanism) An ordained clergyperson usually serving a year prior to being ordained presbyter, though in some cases they remain a permanent deacon.
  4. noun (Evangelicalism) A lay leader of a congregation who assists the pastor.
  5. noun (Methodism) A separate office from that of minister, neither leading to the other; instead there is a permanent deaconate.
  6. noun (Freemasonry) A junior lodge officer.
  7. noun (Mormonism) The lowest office in the Aaronic priesthood, generally held by 12 or 13 year old boys or recent converts.
  8. noun (US, animal husbandry) A male calf of a dairy breed, so called because they are usually deaconed (see below).
  9. verb (transitive, ecclesiastical) To ordain to the diaconate.
  10. verb (Christianity, music) For a choir leader to lead a hymn by speaking one or two lines at a time, which are then sung by the choir.
  11. verb (US, animal husbandry) To kill a calf shortly after birth.
  12. verb (US, slang) To place fresh fruit at the top of a barrel or other container, with spoiled or imperfect fruit hidden beneath.
  13. verb (US, slang) To make sly alterations to the boundaries of (land); to adulterate or doctor (an article to be sold), etc.
  14. proper noun A surname originating as an occupation.
  15. proper noun (rare) A male given name from English.

Synonyms

Protestant deacon

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English deken, dekne, from Old English diacon, from Ecclesiastical Latin diāconus, from Ancient Greek διᾱ́κονος (diā́konos, “servant, minister”).

* English occupational surname for someone working in the household of a deacon.
* Also as an English surname, variant of Dicken.
* As an Irish surname, from Ó Deocáin, "descendant of Deocán."

Webster’s 1913

  1. noun An officer in Christian churches appointed to perform certain subordinate duties varying in different communions. In the Roman Catholic and Episcopal churches, a person admitted to the lowest order in the ministry, subordinate to the bishops and priests. In Presbyterian churches, he is subordinate to the minister and elders, and has charge of certain duties connected with the communion service and the care of the poor. In Congregational churches, he is subordinate to the pastor, and has duties as in the Presbyterian church.
  2. noun The chairman of an incorporated company. [Scot.]
  3. verb To read aloud each line of (a psalm or hymn) before singing it, --usually with off. [Colloq. New. Eng.] See Line, v. t.

Etymology [OE. diakne, deakne, deken, AS. diacon, deacon, L. diaconus, fr. Gr. dean.]

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