In linguistics, a monosyllable is a word or utterance of only one syllable.[1] It is most commonly studied in the fields of phonology and morphology and it has no semantic content.[2] It has originated from the Greek language.[3]
"Yes", "no", "jump", "buy", and "heat" are monosyllables.[4][5] The longest monosyllabic words in the English language, all containing nine letters each, are "screeched," "schlepped," "scratched," "scrounged," "scrunched," "stretched," "straights," and "strengths."[6]
References
- ^ "monosyllable". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
- ^ Nordquist, Richard (3 July 2019). "What is a Monosyllable?". ThoughtCo. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
- ^ Bloomfield, Maurice (1888). "The Origin of the Recessive Accent in Greek". The American Journal of Philology. The Johns Hopkins University Press. 9 (1): 1–41. doi:10.2307/287243. hdl:2027/uc2.ark:/13960/t21c1w96h. JSTOR 287243.
- ^ "monosyllable". Macmillan Dictionary. Springer Nature Limited. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
- ^ "monosyllable". Cambridge Dictionary. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
- ^ "What is the longest one-syllable English word?".
External links
The dictionary definition of monosyllable at Wiktionary
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