Contents

This Help File is intended to be a guide to the lexicographical information found in Merriam-Webster's Biographical Dictionary. The documents listed below come directly from the print edition of the dictionary and will provide useful guidance on how best to interpret elements within each entry and other information contained in this dictionary. For further information on how to use the features of the software, refer to Help on Using the Dictionary.

Preface

Explanatory Notes

Guide to Pronunciation

Help on Using the Dictionary


Preface

[Note: The following is the original Preface, which has appeared in this book since its publication in 1983 under the title Webster's New Biographical Dictionary.]

It is forty years since Webster's Biographical Dictionary first appeared. It was the product of more than five years' work by a large staff of editors, and it quickly justified their efforts by becoming a standard reference. In those forty years the book has seen some 21 updated printings recording the accelerating changes of an increasingly complex and cosmopolitan world. The task of maintaining the book's currency, along with that of constantly improving its accuracy, has been made easier over the years by the thousands of readers and users who have written to offer criticisms, corrections, and suggestions and who are hereby publicly and sincerely thanked. But the task eventually demanded more than updating; hence, Webster's New Biographical Dictionary.

   The present work, while based firmly on its predecessor, is wholly revised and reedited to meet new demands. A new typographic design has greatly simplified the appearance of the pages and will make the book easier to use. Numerous other changes in the arrangement and treatment of information are discussed in detail in the Explanatory Notes section. One major change in the coverage of the book should be noted here: Living persons, whose biographies are virtually impossible to keep up-to-date in a book of this nature, are not included. References such as Who's Who, Current Biography, encyclopedia yearbooks, and the like do an excellent job of reporting on current personalities. Webster's New Biographical Dictionary takes as its job to present in a single volume biographical information on important, celebrated, or notorious figures from the last five thousand years, beginning with Menes, king of Egypt fl. c.2925 B.C., and continuing through some 30,000 more.

   As befits a work aimed at today's and, we hope, tomorrow's readers, the coverage of the non-English-speaking part of the world, especially of Asia, Africa, and what are called variously the developing or Third World nations has been greatly increased. Yet as befits a work that will be used primarily by English-speaking consultants, the treatment afforded American, Canadian, and British subjects tends to be fuller and more detailed.

   Webster's New Biographical Dictionary retains such useful features of its predecessor as the indication of end-of-line division and pronunciation of names (fully discussed in the Explanatory Notes) and the separate list of prenames appended to the main body of the book. To that list have been added lists of common titles and honorifics and of common connective name elements.

   It cannot be pretended that this book is free of error or that the selection of names to be included is in any sense definitive. It is confidently expected that the correspondence of the last forty years with readers around the world will continue, with new grist for the mills of the sharp-eyed detectors of typographical errors and editorial infelicities. Nonetheless Webster's New Biographical Dictionary is offered as a worthy successor to its distinguished parent and an important addition to the line of Merriam-Webster reference books.

   Webster's New Biographical Dictionary was planned and edited by Robert McHenry, assisted by Frank Calvillo, assistant editor. Valuable help was provided by Dr. Frederick C. Mish, Editorial Director of Merriam-Webster. Pronunciation was the work of Dr. John K. Bollard, associate editor, assisted by Susan M. McDonald, assistant editor, and Dru A. Whitten, editorial assistant. Proof was read and corrected by Eileen M. Haraty, editorial assistant, Peter D. Haraty, assistant editor, Daniel J. Hopkins, assistant editor, and Cynthia S. Ashby. The often demanding clerical work required by such a project was carried out under the direction of Gloria Afflitto. Acknowledgment is also due the staff of the first Webster's Biographical Dictionary, headed by William Allan Neilson, John P. Bethel, and Lucius H. Holt.


Explanatory Notes

In compiling and arranging this dictionary, the editors have striven to present information in as consistent a manner as was compatible with clarity and ease of use. The structure of individual entries and the significance of the various sorts of information included in them are in nearly every case self-evident, but the consultant will find useful a brief description and explanation of various devices and conventions adopted by the editors to achieve greater consistency, accuracy, or compression.

   In general, entries in this book include the following elements: 1. Entry name, printed in bold type. 2. Pronunciation (unless carried over from a preceding entry). 3. Prenames. 4. Titles, epithets, pen names, nicknames, original names, etc. 5. Birth and death dates or other indication of historical period. 6. Nationality or, where more applicable, ethnic identification, followed by an occupational description and, for Americans, Canadians, and selected others, birthplace. 7. Pertinent details of the subject's career.

   Variations of this basic arrangement occur in composite entries, for details of which see section 8 below.

1. Entry Names

2. Pronunciation

3. Prenames

4. Titles and other Names

5. Dates

6. Ascriptive Identifier

7. Career Details

8. Composite Entries

9. Cross-References


1. Entry Names
1. Entry Names.

a. Boldface entry selection. The general practice in this book is to enter each subject under his or her family name, when there is one. Entries are not made at titles of nobility, at pseudonyms, nicknames, or other variants. Exceptions to the family-name rule are cases in which the subject adopted a living name (as opposed, for example, to a pen name) different from his family name. Thus, the writer George Orwell (a pseudonym) is entered at Blair, Eric Arthur, and a cross-reference at Orwell makes the entry readily accessible; on the other hand, John Wayne is entered at Wayne, John, as the name he lived under in spite of having been born Marion Michael Morrison. In cases of the common medieval and Renaissance practice of translating family names into Latin equivalents, the editors have preferred the original vernacular name unless it is clear that the Latin name was more than merely a pen name or unless the Latin name is firmly established in English usage. Thus, Georgius Agricola is entered at Bauer, Georg, while Michael Praetorius is entered at Praetorius; again, cross-references assure that every entry is fully accessible.

   Subjects lacking family names, including those whose surnames are not family names, are entered at their given names, as Berengaria or George Pachymeres. Rulers, even those with family names, are generally entered at the given names by which they are known in English, so that kings Friedrich and Wilhelm of Germany are entered at Frederick and William, King Istvan of Hungary is at Stephen, and so on. Where no English equivalent exists, the vernacular name is used, as Wšadysšaw. In the case of Chinese rulers, who have personal names, temple names, reign titles, and sometimes others, the use of personal names has placed most of them in composite dynastic entries (see 8 below).

   Except for the case of rulers' names given in English, vernacular usage has governed spelling.  For languages not written in the Roman alphabet, the following conventions have been adopted.

Chinese: Wade-Giles transliterations are used, with Pin-yin variants shown for some recent figures.

Russian and others using Cyrillic: the transcription system used in the Encyclopaedia Britannica has been adopted, making easier the use of this book in conjunction with a major English-language reference work.

Arabic: the transliteration system used in the Encyclopaedia Britannica has been adopted.

   For simplicity, Chinese and Vietnamese names have been treated as units and printed entirely in boldface. In Japanese and Korean names, with few exceptions, the distinction between family and personal names is observed. (Note that in those languages normal name order places the family name first; hence, in this dictionary no comma appears between family and personal name as it would in, for example, an inverted English name. Hungarian names, which also use family-personal name order are, on the other hand, treated as English names and the comma is used.)

   Major variant spellings or forms of names are given following the main entry name and printed in boldface to indicate their parallel status. Minor variants are usually given separately following the prenames (see 4 below).

   In many languages, surnames are sometimes composed of two or more elements. The choice of element(s) for the boldface main entry has again been determined by vernacular usage. In the relatively simple cases of names containing such connective elements as d', de, de la, di, do , du, ten ,van, van der, von, von der, zu, etc., this means in general that in European names the element following the connective is chosen for entry, while in English names the connective itself is considered the first part of the surname. Individual usage, where it differs, is given precedence over these rules.

   In French, Spanish, and Portuguese, compound surnames are common, as Alphonse-Marie-Louis de Prat de Lamartine or Lope Félix de Vega Carpio. Again vernacular usage has determined the selection of element for alphabetical entry, occasionally in contrast to English usage, as in Vasco Núñez de Balboa. In the case of French names, the convention of hyphenating personal names has been adopted, but in all cases of compound surnames the surname status of any element is indicated by its being given a pronunciation in the entry.

b. Alphabetization. The order of entries is determined by ordinary rules of alphabetization applied to the boldface entry names and by the following additional rules:

i.	Diacritical marks, marks of punctuation, and spaces within the boldface names are ignored, as are Roman numerals.

ii.	Entries with the same boldface entry name are arranged alphabetically by prename; where prenames are the same or absent, they are ordered chronologically by birth date. In a few entries, chiefly of Scottish subjects, a qualifying phrase is attached to the surname, as "Mackenzie of Rosehaugh, Sir George"; such phrases are ignored in alphabetizing.

iii.	In series of entries in which the boldface entry is a personal name, as Boniface or John, the order is: (1) saints; (2) popes; (3) rulers or members of ruling families, ordered alphabetically by name of geographical entry; (4) others bearing only that name.

iv.	Entries whose boldface entry name is followed by a period or by a pronunciation and a period precede those followed by a qualifying word or phrase, as "of Ceos" or "the Blind." The latter precede entries whose boldface entry name is the same but is a family name, followed by prenames.

v.	Entries consisting of a personal name followed by a qualifying word or phrase not in English, as "de Lusignan" or "le Diable," are boldfaced throughout and follow entries in which only the first element is boldfaced.

vi.	Names beginning with M', Mac, or Mc are alphabetized as though spelled Mac.

   The following ordered list of fictitious names illustrates these rules:

Albert. Saint.

Albert. Pope.

Albert II. Duke of Austria.

Albert I. King of Lusatia.

Albert. Baron of Pomerania.

Albert. British chronicler.

Albert of Mainz.

Albert of Regensburg.

Albert the Lion-heart.

Albert, Franklin.

Albert, George. 1832-1863.

Albert of Edinburgh, George. 1833-1848.

Albert, George 1835-1899.

Albert de Paris.

Albert, Lorenzo.

Albert von Krankheit.

c. End-of-line division. The centered dots within boldface entry names indicate points at which a hyphen may be put at the end of a line of print or writing. The centered dots are not meant to separate the syllables of a name. (Syllables are indicated in the pronunciation transcriptions.) As far as possible, division of names has been shown according to principles consistent with those used in the language of origin. No division is shown after a single initial letter or before a single terminal letter because printers seldom isolate a single letter at the end or beginning of a line.

   In cases where variation in pronunciation would call for variant end-of-line divisions on either side of a letter or digraph, the leftmost division is regularly shown, purely for the sake of consistency. There are acceptable alternative end-of-line divisions just as there are acceptable variant spellings and pronunciations; the divisions in this book are simply meant to provide printers, typists, and writers with a consistent set of divisions.


2. Pronunciation
2. Pronunciation.

   Pronunciation of names is shown immediately following boldface entries and between reversed virgules \ \ using the characters and conventions given in the list of Pronunciation Symbols and discussed in the Guide to Pronunciation. Boldface variants of main entry names are given pronunciations when they differ from that of the main entry; any main entry or boldface variant takes the first pronunciation appearing to its right, whether immediately following or not.

   A hyphen is used in pronunciation transcriptions to show syllabic division. The hyphens sometimes coincide with the centered dots in the name that indicate end-of-line division; sometimes they do not.

   A high-set mark \"\ indicates primary (strongest) stress or accent; a low-set mark \'\ indicates secondary (medium) stress. The stress mark stands at the beginning of the syllable that receives stress, on the principle that before a syllable can be uttered the speaker must know whether to stress it or not. A third level of weak stress is left unmarked.

   For some names variant pronunciations have been shown. A second place variant is not to be regarded as less acceptable than the pronunciation that is given first. All of the pronunciations shown in this book are considered to be in acceptable educated usage. When known, the pronunciation preferred by a person or family entered in this book has, of course, been given priority of place. Variant pronunciations are generally separated by commas. Semicolons are occasionally used to set off groups of variants. Where applicable in Spanish and Portuguese names, Latin American pronunciation variants are given following a semicolon.

   Within the limits of an English-based pronunciation system, most foreign names have been given a pronunciation approximating that of the native language. Some foreign names frequently heard in English contexts are given a foreign pronunciation followed by an anglicized variant preceded by the abbreviation \Angl\. Other language labels may be used when variant pronunciations are common in two or more languages.

   Symbols enclosed in parentheses represent elements that are present in the pronunciation of some speakers but are absent from the pronunciation of others, elements that are present in some but absent from other utterances by the same speaker, or elements whose presence or absence is uncertain. When a name has less than a full pronunciation shown, the missing part is to be supplied from a preceding variant within the same pair of reversed virgules or from a pronunciation at a preceding entry. Only the first in a sequence of identical boldface entries is given a pronunciation if their pronunciations are the same.


3. Prenames
3. Prenames.

Prenames, also called given names, personal names, Christian names, etc., appear following the boldface entry name and its pronunciation, set off (except in Japanese and Korean names, as noted above) by a comma. Where a variant of or change in prename requires notice, it is generally signaled by an italicized word or phrase, as or, known as, orig., called. Pronunciations for prenames are given in a separate list at the end of the book, with end-of-line divisions and pronunciations appropriate for various languages clearly shown; where any ambiguity exists as to which language is the proper one for a particular entry, a superscript number following the prename indicates the correct numbered variant in the prenames list.


4. Titles and other Names
4. Titles and other Names.

Following the entry name, pronunciation, and prenames, and set off by periods, are indicated a subject's titles of dignity or rank, original name, nickname, pseudonym, or other identifications. The nature of these other names is clearly denoted by key phrases or in some cases lengthy explanations printed in italic type. Note that an entry reading "Smith, John, orig. George Jones." means that the subject's original name was George Jones Smith, while one reading "Smith. John. Orig. George Jones." means that his original name was George Jones. Pronunciations of principal elements are given in the entry; a list of common titles and their pronunciations appears in the back of the book. Titles of dignity in which the proper name element is the same as the subject's surname are frequently given in short form; thus "Lagrange, Joseph-Louis. Comte." means that the subject's title is Comte Lagrange. A connective name element such as de or von is carried over into the title in such cases: "Pocci, Franz von. Graf." is the Graf von Pocci.


5. Dates
5. Dates.

Birth and death dates, if known, are given in full for each subject. Where information is uncertain or lacking, various devices are used to indicate that fact. A question mark immediately preceding or following a date indicates lack of certainty about the probable date cited; a lesser degree of certainty is indicated by the abbreviation c. (for circa) attached to a date. Entire uncertainty is indicated by use of the abbreviation fl. (Latin floruit, flourished) attached to a date or period associated with the subject's career or by the substitution of a century for specific dates. Where only a birth or death date is known, it is indicated by the abbreviation b. or d. Dates before the Common Era are always denoted B.C.; the term A.D. is used whenever needed for clarity.


6. Ascriptive Identifier
6. Ascriptive Identifier.

Most subjects are identified by a phrase combining a geographical or ethnic reference and a word or phrase suggesting a role, an occupation, or a field of endeavor. In some few cases where it is more to the point, the ascription may omit the geographical reference as implicit in the role description; e.g. "Paul. Saint. 1st century A.D. One of the twelve Christian apostles." In some other cases, no intelligible geographical or ethnic description is available; for those subjects what is known is made clear in the body of the entry. For Americans and Canadians, the subject's birthplace is appended to the ascription. For British subjects not born in England, for subjects who have both a native country and one of adoption, and for selected others of interest, country of origin is also given.


7. Career Details
7. Career Details.

Entries include, generally in the following order, such details of the subject's career as: major offices or positions, in chronological order; major actions or achievements; titles of works not previously mentioned in the entry. Entries may also contain indications of the subject's relation to other subjects entered in the book or suggestions to see (q.v.) or compare (cf.) other entries. Marital details are given when they contribute to an understanding of sequence of events, when marital partners are also subjects of entries in the dictionary or are otherwise prominent, or when for female subjects they explain and date changes of surname.


8. Composite Entries
8. Composite Entries.

Many entries treat more than one subject. Some treat members of a family linked by a common occupation; some treat major families or dynasties whose members are of individual importance but whose relationships are more easily comprehended in a single article. In both instances, each run-on, or additional, subject is marked for rapid location by the symbol ¶. A second form of composite entry typically lists popes or temporal rulers of a given country who share a common entry name regardless of familial relationships, as the kings Henry I through VIII of England. In these entries each new subject's name is given in boldface at the beginning of a new paragraph.


9. Cross-References
9. Cross-References.

Cross-references are used copiously throughout the book to direct the reader to entries placed at real names rather than at perhaps better known pseudonyms or titles and to refer the reader to related entries. In addition there are many fairly elaborate entries at dynastic names that are in essence extended cross-references to the various members of a dynasty entered at their personal names.


Guide to Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not an intrinsic component of the dictionary. For some languages, such as Spanish, Swahili, and Serbo-Croatian, the correspondence between orthography and pronunciation is so close that a dictionary need only spell a word correctly to indicate its pronunciation. Modern English, however, displays no such consistency in sound and spelling, and so a dictionary of English must devote considerable attention to the pronunciation of the language. The English lexicon contains numerous eye rhymes such as love, move, and rove, words which do not sound alike despite their similar spellings. On the other hand, it also contains rhyming words such as breeze, cheese, ease, frieze, and sleaze whose rhymes are all spelled differently.

This grand mismatch between words that look alike and words that sound alike does at least serve to record something of the history of the English-speaking peoples and their language. Spelling often indicates whether a word comes down from the native Anglo-Saxon word stock or was adopted in successive ages from the speech of a missionary monk chanting Latin, a seafaring Viking dickering in Old Norse, a Norman nobleman giving orders in French, or a young immigrant to turn-of-the-century America. For example, the sound \sh\ is spelled as sh in native English shore, as ch in the French loan champagne, as sk in one pronunciation of the Norwegian loan ski, as si in the Renaissance Latin loan emulsion, and as sch in the recent Yiddish loan schlepp. English vowels present different complexities of sound and spelling, due in large part to the fact that William Caxton introduced printing to England in A.D. 1476, many decades before the sound change known as the Great Vowel Shift had run its course. With the rise of printing came an increasingly fixed set of spelling conventions, but the conventionalized spellings soon lost their connection to pronunciation as the vowel shift continued. The stressed vowels of sane and sanity are therefore identical in spelling though now quite different in quality. For the trained observer the vagaries of English orthography contain a wealth of linguistic history; for most others, however, this disparity between sound and spelling is just a continual nuisance at school or work.

Readers often turn to the dictionary wanting to learn the exact pronunciation of a word, only to discover that the word may have several pronunciations, as is the case for deity, economic, envelope, and greasy, among many others. The inclusion of variant pronunciations disappoints those who want their dictionary to list one "correct" pronunciation. In truth, though, there can be no objective standard for correct pronunciation other than the usage of thoughtful and, in particular, educated speakers of English. Among such speakers one hears much variation in pronunciation.

Dictionaries of English before the modern era usually ignored pronunciation variants, instead indicating a single pronunciation by marking the entry word with diacritics to indicate stress and letter values. These systems were cumbersome, however, and reflected the dialectal biases of the editors more than the facts about how a word was actually spoken. Lexicographers came eventually to recognize the need for separate respellings which could record the entire range of accepted variants along with appropriate notes about dialectal distribution or usage.

This dictionary records many types of variation in pronunciation. Distinctions between British and American speech are frequently noted, as are differences among the three major dialect areas of the U.S.—Northern, Southern, and Midland. Words that have distinctive pronunciations in Canada, such as decal and khaki, have those pronunciations duly noted. Pronunciations peculiar to certain spheres of activity are also represented, as for example the variants of athwart and tackle heard in nautical use. Finally, a wide range of unpredictable variations are included, such as the pronunication of economic with either \e\ or \È\. Unpredictable variations frequently cut across the boundaries of geographical dialects, sometimes running along the lines of social class, ethnicity, or gender instead. In fine, this dictionary attempts to include—either explicitly or by implication—all pronunciation variants of a word that are used by educated speakers of the English language.

The pronunciations in this dictionary are informed chiefly by the Merriam-Webster pronunciation file. This file contains citations that are transcriptions of words used by native speakers of English in the course of utterances heard in speeches, interviews, and conversations. In this extensive collection of 3 x 5 slips of paper, one finds the pronunciations of a host of people: politicians, professors, curators, artists, musicians, doctors, engineers, preachers, activists, journalists, and many others. The Merriam-Webster pronunciation editors have been collecting these citations from live speech and from radio, television, and shortwave broadcasts since the 1930s. It is primarily on the basis of this large and growing file that questions of usage and acceptability in pronunciation are answered. All of the pronunciations recorded in this book can be documented as falling within the range of generally acceptable variation, unless they are accompanied by a restricting usage note or symbol or a regional label.

No system of indicating pronunciation is self-explanatory. The following discussion sets out the signification and use of the pronunciation symbols in this book, with special attention to those areas where experience has shown that dictionary users may have questions. More detailed information can be found in the Guide to Pronunciation in Webster's Third New International Dictionary. The order of symbols discussed below is the same as the order on the page of Pronunciation Symbols, with the exception that the symbols which are not letter characters are here listed first. Those characters which have corresponding symbols in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) are shown with their IPA equivalents.

\ \ All pronunciation information is printed between reversed virgules. Pronunciation symbols are printed in roman type and all other information, such as labels and notes, is printed in italics.

\"'\ A high-set stress mark precedes a syllable with primary (strongest) stress; a low-set mark precedes a syllable with secondary (medium) stress; a third level of weak stress requires no mark at all: \"pen-m€n-'ship\.

Since the nineteenth century the International Phonetics Association has recommended that stress marks precede the stressed syllable, and linguists worldwide have adopted this practice on the basic principle that before a syllable can be uttered the speaker must know what degree of stress to give it. In accordance with the practice of French phoneticians, no stress marks are shown in the transcription of words borrowed from French whose pronunciations have not been anglicized, as at ancien régime and émeute.

\-\ Hyphens are used to separate syllables in pronunciation transcriptions. In actual speech, of course, there is no pause between the syllables of a word. The placement of hyphens is based on phonetic principles, such as vowel length, nasalization, variation due to the position of a consonant in a syllable, and other nuances of the spoken word. The syllable breaks shown in this book reflect the careful pronunciation of a single word out of context. Syllabication tends to change in rapid or running speech: a consonant at the end of a syllable may shift into a following syllable, and unstressed vowels may be elided. The numerous variations in pronunciation that a word may have in running speech are of interest to phoneticians but are well outside the scope of a dictionary of general English.

The centered dots in boldface entry words indicate potential end-of-line division points and not syllabication. These division points are determined by considerations of both morphology and pronunciation, among others. A detailed discussion of end-of-line division is contained in the article on Division in Boldface Entry Words in Webster's Third New International Dictionary. In this book a consistent approach has been pursued, both toward word division based on traditional formulas and toward syllabication based on phonetic principles. As a result, the hyphens indicating syllable breaks and the centered dots indicating end-of-line division often do not fall in the same places.

\( )\ Parentheses are used in pronunciations to indicate that whatever is symbolized between them is present in some utterances but not in others; thus factory \"fak-t(€-)rÈ\ is pronounced both \"fak-t€-rÈ\ and \"fak-trÈ\, industry \"in-(')d€s-trÈ\ is pronounced both \"in-d€s-trÈ\ and \"in-'d€s-trÈ\. In some phonetic environments, as in fence \"fen(t)s\ and boil \"bÕi(€)l\, it may be difficult to determine whether the sound shown in parentheses is or is not present in a given utterance; even the usage of a single speaker may vary considerably.

\‚ ;\ Variant pronunciations are separated by commas; groups of variants are separated by semicolons. The order of variants does not mean that the first is in any way preferable to or more acceptable than the others. All of the variants in this book, except those restricted by a regional or usage label, are widely used in acceptable educated speech. If evidence reveals that a particular variant is used more frequently than another, the former will be given first. This should not, however, prejudice anyone against the second or subsequent variants. In many cases the numerical distribution of variants is equal but one of them, of course, must be printed first.

\÷\ The obelus, or division sign, is placed before a pronunciation variant that occurs in educated speech but that is considered by some to be questionable or unacceptable. This symbol is used sparingly and primarily for variants that have been objected to over a period of time in print by commentators on usage, in schools by teachers, or in correspondence that has come to the Merriam-Webster editorial department. In most cases the objection is based on orthographic or etymological arguments. For instance, the second variant of cupola \"kyü-p€-l€, ÷-'lÖ\, though used frequently in speech, is objected to because a is very rarely pronounced \Ö\ in English. The pronunciations \"fe-by€-'wer-È\ and \"fe-b€-'wer-È\ (indicated simultaneously by the use of parentheses) are similarly marked at the entry for February \÷"fe-b(y)€-'wer-È, "fe-br€-\, even though they are the most frequently heard pronunciations, because some people insist that both r's should be pronounced. The obelus applies only to that portion of the transcription which it immediately precedes and not to any other variants following.

\€\ in unstressed syllables as in banana, collide, abut (IPA [€]). This neutral vowel, called schwa, may be represented orthographically by any of the letters a, e, i, o, u, y, and by many combinations of letters. In running speech unstressed vowels are regularly pronounced as \€\ in American and British speech. Unstressed \€\ often intrudes between a stressed vowel and a following \l\ or \r\ though it is not represented in the spelling, as in eel \"È(€)l\and sour \"sau(-€)r\.

\"€‚ '€\ in stressed syllables as in humdrum, abut. (IPA [v]).

\€\ immediately preceding \l\, \n\, \m\, \¾\, as in battle, cotton, and one pronunciation of open \"Ö-p€m\ and of and \€¾\ as in one pronunciation of the phrase lock and key \'läk-€¾-"kÈ\. The symbol \€\ preceding these consonants does not itself represent a sound. It signifies instead that the following consonant is syllabic; that is, the consonant itself forms the nucleus of a syllable that does not contain a vowel.

In the pronunciation of some French or French-derived words \€\ is placed immediately after \l\, \m\, \r\ to indicate one nonsyllabic pronunciation of these consonants, as in the French words table "table," prisme "prism," and titre "title," each of which in isolation and in some contexts is a one-syllable word.

\€r\ as in further, merger, bird (IPA [É, Ê]). (See the section on \r\.) The anglicized pronunciation of the vowel \º\ is represented in this book as \€(r)\. (See the section on \º\.)

\"€r-‚ "€-r\ as in two different pronunciations of hurry. Most U.S. speakers pronounce \"h€r-È\ with the \€r\ representing the same sounds as in bird \"b€rd\. Usually in metropolitan New York and southern England and frequently in New England and the southeastern U.S. the vowel is much the same as the vowel of hum followed by a syllable-initial variety of \r\. This pronunciation of hurry is represented as \"h€-rÈ\ in this book. Both types of pronunciation are shown for words composed of a single meaningful unit (or morpheme) as in current, hurry, and worry. In words such as furry, stirring, and purring in which a vowel or vowel-initial suffix is added to a word ending in r or rr (as fur, stir, and purr), the second type of pronunciation outlined above is heard only occasionally and is not shown in this dictionary.

\a\ as in mat, map, mad, gag, snap, patch (IPA [æ]). Some variation in this vowel is occasioned by the consonant that follows it; thus, for some speakers map, mad, and gag have noticeably different vowel sounds. There is a very small number of words otherwise identical in pronunciation that these speakers may distinguish solely by variation of this vowel, as in the two words can (put into cans; be able) in the sentence "Let's can what we can." However, this distinction is sufficiently infrequent that the traditional practice of using a single symbol is followed in this book.

\À\ as in day, fade, date, aorta, drape, cape (IPA [e, eI, ei]). In most English speech this is actually a diphthong. In lowland South Carolina, in coastal Georgia and Florida, and occasionally elsewhere \À\ is pronounced as a monophthong. As a diphthong \À\ has a first element \e\ or monophthongal \À\ and a second element \i\.

\ä\ as in bother, cot, and, with most American speakers, father, cart (IPA [α]). The symbol \ä\ represents the vowel of cot, cod, and the stressed vowel of collar in the speech of those who pronounce this vowel differently from the vowel in caught, cawed, and caller, represented by \Õ\. In U.S. speech \ä\ is pronounced with little or no rounding of the lips, and it is fairly long in duration, especially before voiced consonants. In southern England \ä\ is usually accompanied by some lip rounding and is relatively short in duration. The vowel \Õ\ generally has appreciable lip rounding. Some U.S. speakers (a perhaps growing minority) do not distinguish between cot—caught, cod—cawed, and collar—caller, usually because they lack or have less lip rounding in the words transcribed with \Õ\. Though the symbols \ä\ and \Õ\ are used throughout this book to distinguish the members of the above pairs and similar words, the speakers who rhyme these pairs will automatically reproduce a sound that is consistent with their own speech.

In words such as card and cart most U.S. speakers have a sequence of sounds that we transcribe as \är\. Most speakers who do not pronounce \r\ before another consonant or a pause, however, do not rhyme card with either cod or cawed and do not rhyme cart with either cot or caught. The pronunciation of card and cart by such speakers, although not shown in this dictionary, would be transcribed as \"kad\ and \"kat\. Speakers of r-dropping dialects will automatically substitute \a\ for the transcribed \är\. (See the sections on \a\ and \r\.)

\a\ as in father as pronounced by those who do not rhyme it with bother (IPA [a, å]). The pronunciation of this vowel varies regionally. In eastern New England and southern England it is generally pronounced farther forward in the mouth than \ä\ but not as far forward as \a\. In New York City and the southeastern U.S. it may have much the same quality as \ä\ but somewhat greater duration.

In areas in which \r\ is not pronounced before another consonant or a pause, \a\ occurs for the sequence transcribed in this book as \är\. (See the sections on \ä\ and \r\.) In these areas \a\ also occurs with varying frequency in a small group of words in which a in the spelling is followed by a consonant letter other than r and is not preceded by w or wh, as in father, calm, palm, and tomato but not in watch, what, or swap (though \a\ does sometimes occur in waft). Especially in southern England and, less consistently, in eastern New England \a\ occurs in certain words in which \a\ is the usual American vowel and in most of which the vowel is followed by \f\, \th\, \s\, or by \n\ and another consonant, as in the words after, bath, mask, and slant.

The symbol \a\ is also used in the transcription of some foreign-derived words and names. This vowel, as in French patte "paw" and chat "cat," is intermediate between \a\ and \ä\ and is similar in quality to the \a\ heard in eastern New England.

\au\ as in now, loud, out (IPA [aU, au]). The initial element of this diphthong may vary from \a\ to \a\ or \ä\, the first being more common in Southern and south Midland speech than elsewhere. In coastal areas of the southern U.S. and in parts of Canada this diphthong is often realized as \€u\ when immediately preceding a voiceless consonant, as in the noun house and in out.

\b\ as in baby, rib (IPA [b]).

\ch\ as in chin, nature \"nÀ-ch€r\ (IPA [t∫]). Actually, this sound is \t\ + \sh\. The distinction between the phrases why choose and white shoes is maintained by a difference in the syllabication of the \t\ and the \sh\ in each case and the consequent use of different varieties (or allophones) of \t\.

\d\ as in did, adder (IPA [d]). (See the section on \t\ below for a discussion of the flap allophone of \d\.)

\e\ as in bet, bed, peck (IPA [ε]). In Southern and Midland dialects this vowel before nasal consonants often has a raised articulation that approximates \i\, so that pen has nearly the pronunciation \"pin\.

\"È‚ 'È\ in stressed syllables as in beat, nosebleed, evenly, easy (IPA [i]).

\È\ in unstressed syllables, as in easy, mealy (IPA [i, I]. Though the fact is not shown in this book, some dialects such as southern British and southern U.S. often, if not usually, pronounce \i\ instead of unstressed \È\.

\f\ as in fifty, cuff (IPA [f]).

\g\ as in go, big, gift (IPA [g]).

\h\ as in hat, ahead (IPA [h]).

\hw\ as in whale as pronounced by those who do not have the same pronunciation for both whale and wail. Most U.S. speakers distinguish these two words as \"hwÀ(€)l\ and \"wÀ(€)l\ respectively, though frequently in the U.S. and usually in southern England \"wÀ(€)l\ is used for both. Some linguists consider \hw\ to be a single sound, a voiceless \w\ (IPA [w]).

\i\ as in tip, banish, active (IPA [I]).

\ï\ as in site, side, buy, tripe (IPA [aI, ai, αI, αi]). Actually, this sound is a diphthong, usually composed of \ä\ + \i\ or \a\ + \i\. In Southern speech, especially before a pause or voiced consonant, as in shy and five, the second element \i\ may not be pronounced (IPA [a:]). Chiefly in eastern Virginia, coastal South Carolina, and parts of Canada the diphthong is approximately \"€\ + \i\ before voiceless consonants, as in nice and write (IPA [vI]).

\j\ as in job, gem, edge, join, judge. Actually, this sound is \d\ + \zh\ (IPA [d3]). Assuming the anglicization of Jeanne d'Arc as \zhän-"därk\, the distinction between the sentences They betray John Dark and They betrayed Jeanne d'Arc is maintained by a difference in the syllabication of the \d\ and the \zh\ in each case and the consequent use of different varieties (or allophones) of \d\.

\k\ as in kin, cook, ache (IPA [k]).

\k\ as in German ich "I," Buch "book," and one pronunciation of English loch. Actually, there are two distinct sounds in German; the \k\ in ich (IPA [„]) is pronounced toward the front of the mouth and the \k\ in Buch is pronounced toward the back (IPA [x]). In English, however, no two words otherwise identical are distinguished by these two varieties of \k\, and therefore only a single symbol is necessary.

\l\ as in lily, pool (IPA [l, š]). In words such as battle and fiddle the \l\ is a syllabic consonant (IPA [™]). (See the section on \€\ above.)

\m\ as in murmur, dim, nymph (IPA [m]). In pronunciation variants of some words, such as open and happen, \m\ is a syllabic consonant (IPA [m]). (See the section on \€\ above.)

\n\ as in no, own (IPA [n]). In words such as cotton and sudden, the \n\ is a syllabic consonant (IPA [¥]). (See the section on \€\ above.)

\n\ indicates that a preceding vowel or diphthong is pronounced with the nasal passages open, as in French un bon vin blanc \ºn-bÖn-van-blän\ "a good white wine."

\¾\ as in sing \"si¾\, singer \"si¾-€r\, finger \"fi¾-g€r\, ink \"i¾k\ (IPA [¾]). In some rare contexts \¾\ may be a syllabic consonant (IPA [j]). (See the section on \€\ above.)

\Ö\ as in bone, know, beau (IPA [o, oU, ou]). Especially in positions of emphasis, such as when it is word final or when as primary stress, \Ö\ tends to become diphthongal, moving from \Ö\ toward a second element \u\. In southern England and in some U.S. speech, particularly in the Philadelphia area and in the Pennsylvania-Ohio-West Virginia border area, the first element is often approximately \€\. In coastal South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida stressed \Ö\ is often monophthongal when final, but when a consonant follows it is often a diphthong moving from \Ö\ to \€\. In this book the symbol \Ö\ represents all of the above variants. As an unstressed vowel before another vowel, \Ö\ is often pronounced as a schwa with slight lip rounding that is separated from the following vowel by the glide \w\, as in following \"fä-l€-wi¾\. This reduced variant is not usually shown at individual entries.

\Õ\ as in saw, all, gnaw, caught (IPA [K]). (See the section on \ä\.)

\º\ as in French boeuf "beef," German Hölle "hell" (IPA [º]). This vowel, which occurs only in foreign-derived terms and names, can be approximated by attempting to pronounce the vowel \e\ with the lips moderately rounded as for the vowel \u\. This vowel is often anglicized as the \€r\ of bird by those who do not "drop their r's" or as the corresponding vowel of bird used by those who do (see the section on \r\). Where this anglicization is shown, it is represented as \€(r)\.

\o\ as in French feu "fire," German Höhle "hole" (IPA [ø]). This vowel, which occurs primarily in foreign-derived terms and names, can be approximated by attempting to pronounce a monophthongal vowel \À\ with the lips fully rounded as for the vowel \ü\. This vowel also occurs in Scots and thus is used in the pronunciation of guidwillie, mainly restricted to Scotland.

\Õi\ as in coin, destroy (IPA [KI, Ki]). In some Southern speech, especially before a consonant in the same word, the second element may disappear or be replaced by \€\. Some utterances of drawing and sawing have a sequence of vowel sounds identical to that in coin, but because drawing and sawing are analyzed by many as two-syllable words they are transcribed with a parenthesized hyphen: \"drÕ(-)i¾\, \"sÕ(-)i¾\.

\p\ as in pepper, lip (IPA [p]).

\r\ as in red, rarity, car, beard. What is transcribed here as \r\ in reality represents several distinct sounds. Before a stressed vowel \r\ denotes a continuant produced with the tongue tip slightly behind the teethridge (IPA [R]). This sound usually voiceless when it follows a voiceless stop, as in pray, tree, and cram. After a vowel in the same syllable \r\ is most often a semivowel characterized by retroflexion of the tongue tip. The sequences \ar\, \är\, \er\, \ir\, \Õr\, \ur\, and \€r\ may then be considered diphthongs. In some speech the retroflexion of the \r\ occurs throughout the articulation of the vowel, but in other cases the first vowel glides into a retroflex articulation. In the latter cases a brief transition vowel is sometimes heard; this variable and nondistinctive glide is not transcribed in this book, but is considered implicit in the symbol \r\.

In Received Pronunciation \r\ is sometimes pronouned as a flap in the same contexts in which \t\ and \d\ occur as flaps in American English. (See the section on \t\ below.) Occasionally the flap may be heard after consonants, as in bright and grow. In other dialects of British English, particularly Scottish, \r\ may be pronounced as an alveolar trill (IPA [r]) or as a uvular trill (IPA [R]). In some dialects, especially those of the southeastern U.S., eastern New England, New York City, and southern England, \r\ is not pronounced after a vowel in the same syllable. This is often, if somewhat misleadingly, referred to as r-dropping. In these dialects r is pronounced as a nonsyllabic \€\ when it occurs in these positions or there may be no sound corresponding to the r; thus beard, corn, and assured may be pronounced as \"bi€d\, \"kÕ€n\, and \€-"shu€d\ or, usually with some lengthening of the vowel sound, as \"bid\, \"kÕn\, and \€-"shud\. In car, card, and cart those who do not pronounce \r\ generally have a vowel which we would transcribe as \a\, usually pronounced with some lengthening and without a following \€\. (See the sections on \ä\ and \a\.) The stressed vowel of bird and hurt in r-dropping speech is similar to the vowel used by r-keepers in the same words but without the simultaneous raising of the center and/or tip of the tongue. In the U.S. most speakers of r-dropping dialects will pronounce \r\ before consonants in some words or in some contexts. Because it is determined by the phonetic context, r-dropping is not explicitly represented in this dictionary; speakers of r-dropping dialects will automatically substitute the sounds appropriate to their own speech.

\s\ as in source, less (IPA [s]).

\sh\ as in shy, mission, machine, special (IPA [∫]). Actually, this is a single sound, not two. When the two sounds \s\ and \h\ occur in sequence, they are separated by a hyphen in this book, as in grasshopper \"gras-'hä-p€r\.

\t\ as in tie, attack, late, later, latter (IPA [t]). In some contexts, as when a stressed or unstressed vowel precedes and an unstressed vowel or \€l\ follows, the sound represented by t or tt is pronounced in most American speech as a voiced flap produced by the tongue tip tapping the teethridge. In similar contexts the sound represented by d or dd has the same pronunciation. Thus, the pairs ladder and latter, leader and liter, parody and parity are often homophones. At the end of a syllable \t\ often has an incomplete articulation with no release, or it is accompanied or replaced by a glottal closure. When \t\ occurs before the syllabic consonant \€n\ as in button \"b€-t€n\, the glottal allophone is often heard. This may reflect a syllabication of \t\ with the preceding stressed syllable (i.e. \"b€t-€n\).

\th\ as in thin, ether (IPA [θ]). Actually, this is a single sound, not two. When the two sounds \t\ and \h\ occur in sequence they are separated by a hyphen in this book, as in knighthood \"nït-'hud\.

\»\ as in then, either, this (IPA [ð]). Actually, this is a single sound, not two. The difference between \th\ and \»\ is that the former is pronounced without and the latter with vibration of the vocal cords.

\ü\ as in rule, youth, union \"yün-y€n\, few \"fyü\ (IPA [u]). As an unstressed vowel before another vowel, \ü\ is often pronounced as a schwa with slight lip rounding that is separated from the following vowel by the glide \w\, as valuing \"val-y€-wi¾\. This reduced variant is not usually shown at individual entries. Younger speakers of American English often use a more centralized and less rounded pronunciation of \ü\ in certain words (as news and musician), both in stressed and especially in unstressed syllables.

\u\ as in pull, wood, book, curable \"kyur-€-b€l\, fury \"fyur-È\ (IPA [U]).

\æ\ as in German füllen "to fill," hübsch "handsome" (IPA [Y]). This vowel, which occurs only in foreign-derived terms and names, can be approximated by attempting to pronounce the vowel \i\ with the lips moderately rounded as for the vowel \u\.

\e\ as in French rue "street," German fühlen "to feel" (IPA [y]). This vowel, which occurs only in foreign-derived terms and names, can be approximated by attempting to pronounce the vowel \È\ with the lips fully rounded as for the vowel \ü\.

\v\ as in vivid, invite (IPA [v]).

\w\ as in we, away (IPA [w]).

\y\ as in yard, young, cue \"kyü\, curable \"kyur-€-b€l\, few \"fyü\, fury \"fyur-È\, union \"yün-y€n\ (IPA [j]). The sequences \lyü\, \syü\, and \zyü\ in the same syllable, as in lewd, suit, and presume, are common in southern British speech but are rare in American speech and only \lü\, \sü\, and \zü\ are shown in this dictionary. A sequence of \h\ and \y\ as in hue and huge is pronounced by some speakers as a \k\ articulated toward the front of the mouth (IPA [„]).

In English \y\ does not occur at the end of a syllable after a vowel. In a few words of French origin whose pronunciation has not been anglicized, a postvocalic \y\ is transcribed, as in mille-feuille \mÈl-fºy\ and in rouille \"rü-È, rüy\. The sound represented is the consonantal \y\ of yard.

\y\ indicates that during the articulation of the preceding consonant the tongue has substantially the position it has for the articulation of the \y\ of yard, as in French digne \dÈny\ "worthy." Thus \y\ does not itself represent a sound but rather modifies the preceding symbol.

\z\ as in zone, raise (IPA [z]).

\zh\ as in vision, azure \"a-zh€r\ (IPA [3]). Actually, this is a single sound, not two. When the two sounds \z\ and \h\ occur in sequence, they are separated by a hyphen in this book, as in hogshead \"hÕgz-'hed, "hägz-\.


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