Dictionary of English Phonesthemes Part 3
Initial Clusters Part 2
- /f/ (0/1) /f/ fizzes, fizzles, fuddles, fidgets,
fusses, and farts. /f/ is fond of phatic phonics.
- /f/ (1/1) Hissing: fart, fizzle (break wind
quietly), fuzz (loose volatile matter), fuss, fizz (make a
hissing or sputtering sound), famble (stammer), faffle
(stutter), fumble {variant of famble}, fuddle (tipple, booze,
muddle), fidge (fidget, twitch), fidget,
- /sf/ (1/1) Unclassified: sphere, sphincter, sphex
(wasp), sphygmus (pulse), sphinx,
- /c/ (0/1) /c/ thunders, thuds, thunks, and
thumps.
- /c/ (1/1) Low Pitch Sound with Poorly Resolvable
Onset: thunder, thud (gust of wind), thump, thunk,
- /s/ (0/1) /s/ sucks, soaks, sops, sips, seeps,
sizzles, and sighs.
- /s/ (1/1) Frictional Noise, Intake of Breath,
Dripping or Trickling of Liquids: suck, sigh, soak, sup,
sop, sipe (ooze, drip), sip {variant of sop or sup}, seep
(ooze) {variant of sip}, siss (hiss), sizz (burn, brand, hiss,
sizzle), sizzle souse (heavy blow, thump, strike), sock
(beat), sussing,
- /S/ (0/3) Not very productive /S/ shambles,
shakes, shocks, shushes, and shoos.
- /S/ (1/3) Flexibility, Two-Dimensionality: sheet,
sheer,
- /S/ (2/3) Quietude, Exclamation: shush, shish,
sheesh, shoot, shucks, shit, shafted,
- /S/ (3/3) Unclassified: shag (toss about, shake)
{variant of shake}, shog (shake, rock, jolt) {variant of
shake}, shod (move swiftly or suddenly) {variant of shake},
shake, shock (collide) {possibly variant of shake}, shamble
(walk unsteadily, stool), shail (stumble, shamble), shoo (used
to frighten or drive away),
- /C/ (0/4) Symbol not older than Middle English
/C/ chatters, chit-chats, chirps, cheeps, chirrs, chuckles,
and chortles. /C/ chimes, chinks, and chugs.
- /C/ (1/4) Vocal Sound Of Small Animals, Especially
Birds: chirk, chough (crow), chatter, chitter {ablaut
variant of chatter}, chat, chit-chat, chap (crack, jaw), chip
{ablaut variant of chap}, chop {ablaut variant of chop},
chirp, chirrup, chirt, chirr (trill like a grasshopper), chirl
(warble), chuck (cluck), chuckle, cheep (used of birds and
mice), chipper (twitter, babble, chatter), chit (name of
bird), chiff-chaff (name of a bird), chink (fit of coughing),
champ (chew), chomp {variant of champ}, chank {variant of
champ}, chock {variant of shock}, chuck (give a gentle blow
under the chin), {variant of chock},
- /C/ (2/4) Sound With Irregular Onset: chirp,
cheep, chitter, chatter,
- /C/ (3/4) Metallic Or Glass Sounds: chime, chink
(sound of metal or glass), chug (sound of oil-engine, etc when
running slowly),
- /C/ (4/4) Short Path: chop,
- /h/ (0/4) /h/ hushes, hisses, huffs, hems and haws,
hoots, honks, howls, and hums.
- /h/ (1/4) Sound and Exclamation: ha, ho, hoop,
heh, heigh, heigh-ho, hee-haw, huh, hmmm, hrmm, hoot, hum,
humble (hum), hiss, hush, howl, hizz (make a whining noise)
{variant of hiss}, honk,
- /h/ (2/4) Sound Of Phoneme: hiss, hush, hum, huff,
hish, hizz, huss, huzz,
- /h/ (3/4) Sudden, Jerky Movement: hop, hip {ablaut
variant of hop}, hobble, hack, hag (variant of hack), hackle
{frequentative of hack}, haggle (cut, mangle by cutting)
{frequentative of hag}, higgle {ablaut variant of haggle},
hitch, hug, huff (puff, swell),
- /h/ (4/4) Rimes: humdrum, helter-skelter, hubble-
bubble, hurdy-gurdy,
- /v/ (0/5) /v/ is vile, vicious, vehement, and
vexing. /v/ is vested with verve, vigor, vim, and vibes.
- /v/ (1/5) Vileness: vex, vie, vice, vile, vamp (to
invent, concoct, fabricate, improvise; to practice seductive
wiles on; flirt; seductress), vert (one who renounces the
Church or England for the Catholic Church; any convert or
pervert), vafrous (crafty; shrewd; cunning), vicious,
vehement,
- /v/ (2/5) Container: valve, vent, vault, vat,
- /v/ (3/5) Word or Voice: verb, verse, vox (voice),
- /v/ (4/5) Energy: verve (energy; zest), verge (rim;
shoulder), vibes, vim (robust energy and enthusiasm; vitality,
zip), vigor,
- /v/ (5/5) Unclassified: van, vast, veldt (open
grassland in S. Africa; the flat, treeless country of the
Transvaal plateau), vair (squirrel fur), vest, vet, vine,
- /q/ (1/1) Adverbs, Etc: that'd, that'll, that,
that's, them, then, thence, there'll, there're, their, there,
they're, thereby, there'd, therefore, there've, therewithal,
theirs, there's, thestreen, theretofore, thereinafter,
thenceforth, thereabout, thereabouts, thereinbefore,
thereupon, themself, themselves, thenceforward,
thenceforwards, thereafter, thereat, therein, thereinto,
thereunder, thereon, therefor, therefrom, thereto, therewith,
this'll, this, this'll, thur, thao, thau, thou, thous, they,
they'd, they'll, they've, thereunto, thee, thesing, these,
the, theus, though, those, the, thus, thusly, that, thy,
thine, theis,
- /z/ (0/1) Infrequent initial /z/ zigzags, zips,
zooms, zings, and zaps.
- /z/ (1/1) Sound With Poorly Resolvable Onset:
zigzag {loan from French}, zip, zoom (make a continuous, low-
pitched, buzzing sound; aircraft's steep climb), zoon, zunn
(go or run fast witha hum or buzz), zing, zap, zat, zot,
- /Z/ (1/1) Unclassified: genre, gendarme (a
moderate blue-green color; policeman; a flaw in a gem),
girouettism {weathercock -ism} (alteration of one's opinion or
position to follow popular trends) jamais {never} (the denial
of having experienced something actually experienced),
j'adoube (I adjust), jeunesse dorée (wealthy and fashionable
young men), jupe (a man's shirt or jacket; a woman's blouse or
skirt), juste-millieu (happy medium), zho (dzo),
- /J/ (0/2) No coinages before about 1300 /J/
jingles, jangles, jibbers, jabbers, jars, jumbles, jeers, and
jests. /J/ jabs, jags, jogs, jumps, jerks, jounces, and
jiggles.
- /J/ (1/2) Emotion: jingle, jangle (chatter,
babble, dispute, wrangle; jingle harshly) {variant of jingle},
jabber (gabble), jowl (joll), jowl (toll a bell, bump), jumble
(make a rumbling noise), jump (the noise of jumping), jar
(make a harsh, grating sound), jug (imitation of one of the
notes of the nightingale), gibber {ablaut variation of
jabber}, jibber {ablaut variation of jabber}, jam, jazz, jeer,
jest (feat, tale of a feat, idle tale, jeer), Jesus!,
- /J/ (2/2) Jerky Movement With Short Path: jag
(pierce, prick; sharp projection), jog (shake with a jerk),
joggle {frequentative of jog}, jiggle {ablaut variation of
joggle}, jig (lively dance), jiggle (move backwards and
forwards), jigger (make a succession of rapid jerks), jigget
(jig, hop, skip about) {influenced by fidget}, jerk, jink
(jerk, quick turn; used in WWII for maneuvering aircraft),
job, jab (stab, prod, poke) {variant of job}, jib (pull a
sail), jounce, jagged,
- /pl/ (0/2) Symbol no older than Middle English
/pl/ is plump and plops, plunges, and plashes.
- /pl/ (1/2) Dull Impact, Chiefly In Connection With
Water: plump, plunge, plash, plod (walk heavily), plop
(drop into water without splashing), plap, plodge (walk in
mud, water, plunge), pluff (strong puff), plip, ploosh,
- /pl/ (2/2) Sounds With A Less Abrupt Onset:
plink, plop, plunk, plash
- /spl/ (0/1) Modern symbol, combination of /pl/ and
/sp/. /spl/ splashes, splatters, splinters, and
splurges.
- /spl/ (1/1) Jet Movement, Impact, Splash: splash,
splatter, splatch (splash, patch of color), splat (pat, slap,
spat), splosh (splash), splodge (trudge or plod splashily
through water), splunge (plunge) splurge (ostentatious
display), splotch (blend of blotch and spot) splodge (clumsy
splotch), splinter, splow, splush, sploodge (to eject
semen),
- /tl/ (1/1) Unclassified: tlaco {Nahuatl} (a small
18th-c Mexican coin worth one eigth of a real),
- /kl/ (0/1) /kl/ clatters, clamors, clicks, clacks,
clangs, clumps, clamps, clomps, clops, and clunks.
- /kl/ (1/1) Sound with Somewhat Abrupt Onset:
clatter, clack, clamber, clamor (bell-ringing), clam (clang of
bells), cluck, clash, click, clang, clank, clump (tread
heavily), clink-clank, clamp (variant of clump), clomp
(clump), cloop (sound of a cork drawn from a bottle), clip
(cut), clop, clunk,
- /bl/ (0/3) Imitative of the sound of a bubble.
/bl/ blows, blazes, and blisters as a blizzard. /bl/ bleats,
blurts, blubbers, and blabs /bl/ is a blot, a blob, a blister
and a bleb.
- /bl/ (1/3) Blowing, Blowing Up, Or Swelling:
blow, blast, bladder, blain (chilbain), blaze (blow), blister,
bluster, blurt, blore (violent blowing), blizzard, blam,
blug,
- /bl/ (2/3) Swelling Of The Lips: blubber (bubble
up, give forth bubbling sound), blob, blot, blub (swell, puff
out), blabber (bubble, mumble), blabber-lipped (with
protruding lips), blobber-lipped (with protruding lips), blab
(chatterer), blob (mark with a blob or ink or color), bleb,
blab (blister)
- /bl/ (3/3) Vocal, Air-Induced Sound: bleat (bleat,
cry piteously as a child), blather, blatter (speak or prate
volubly), blate (babble, prate), blat (bleat), blast, blab,
bleep,
- /gl/ (0/8) /gl/ glitters, gleams, glimmers,
glistens, glows, glares, and glimpses into the gloom. /gl/
gloms, glops, and globs as glue.
- /gl/ (1/8) Light, Shine: glass, gleam, gleed (live
coal), glisten, glow, glare, glary (having a dazzling
brightness; glaring), glent (glean, shine), glimmer, glimpse,
glister (glisten), glitter, glim (shine, gleam), gloat, gloss,
gloze (gloss), glaze {from gaze, glare, glance}, glint {ablaut
variant of glent} (of rays of light, to strike reflecting
surface obliquely and dart out at an angle), glance, glim
(glimmer, something that furnishes light; illumination),
glory,
- /gl/ (2/8) Twilight, Contempt: gloaming (twilight,
dusk), gloam {backformation from gloaming} (twilight), gloom,
glum (look sullen) {probable ablaut variation of gloom},
glare, glout (frown, scowl), glower {from glow, glare, glance,
lower} (to look or stare with sullen annoyance), glib, gloat,
gleek (to make a jibe or jest),
- /gl/ (3/8) Sliding, smooth, slippery: glabella
(the smooth prominence between the eyebrows), glabrous (having
a surface without hairs or projections), glacé (made or
finished so as to have a smooth glossy surface), glacier,
glacial (extremely cold; frigid), glaciate (freeze; cover with
a glacier), glacis [glasi:] (a gentle slope, incline, a slope
that runs downward from a fortification; buffer state; buffer
zone), glide, glissade (to slide in a standing or squatting
position down a snow-covered slope without the aid of skis),
glissando,
- /gl/ (4/8) Words deriving from IE root *gerbh, to
carve: glamour {from grammar}, glyph (non-verbal symbol),
glyptic (the art or process of carving or engaging esp on
gems)
- /gl/ (5/8) Sword: gladiator, glaive (sword;
broadsword),
- /gl/ (6/8) Gladness: glad {from OHG glat=smooth},
glee, gleg {from ON gloggr=clear-sighted} (quick, sharp),
glaikit [gle:kut] (foolish, giddy), glaiket {variant of
glaikit},
- /gl/ (7/8) Oversupply, secretion, stickiness:
glut (to swallow greedily; an oversupply), glutton, glom
(take, steal, seize, catch), glop (jumbled or messy mass or
mixture), glob, globe, glue, gluteus (any of the large muscles
of the buttocks), glyc- (sugar; glycine), glair {L
claris=clear} (a sizing liquid made from egg white; a viscid
substance suggestive of an eggwhite), glaire {variant of
glair} gleet (a chronic inflammation of a bodily orifice usu
accompanied by abnormal discharge), gland {L glan=acorn},
glanders (contagious and destructive disease esp of horses),
glans {L=acorn} (conical vascular body forming extremity of
penis), glitch (an unwanted brief surge of electric power;
malfunction; minor technical problem),
- /gl/ (8/8) Unclassified: glisk (a slight touch of
pleasure or a twinge of pain that penetrates the soul and
passes quickly away), glebe (a plot of cultivated land; land
belonging or yielding revenue to a parish church or
ecclesiastical benefice), glade (open space surrounded by
woods) glen (secluded narrow valley), gley [gle:] (a sticky
layer formed under the surface of some water-logged soils),
glean, glume {L glubere=to peel} (a chaffy bract; either of
two empty bracts at the base of the spikelet in grasses),
glede (any of several birds of prey), glossolalia, glottis
(the elongated between the vocal chords), glove,
- /fl/ (0/3) /fl/ flutters, flaps, flies, flits,
flitters, floats, flows, and flushes in a flurry of fluid.
/fl/ flipflops, flickers, flares, and flags.
- /fl/ (1/3) Movement, Flying, Flowing: flee,
fleet, float, flicker, flow, flutter, fly, flit, flush, fling,
flap {originally slap}, flash, flack (flap, flutter), flacker,
flick, fluster, flatter (float, flutter), flitter (flit,
flutter) {variant of flatter}, flirt, flip, flop, flurry,
flump, flunk, flare, flag {probably variant of flack}, flaught
(a spark; a snowflake; a handful; a flight or flutter; a roll
of wool; lying with outstretched arms; eagerly),
- /fl/ (2/3) Liquid Motion: fly, flow, flush, flood,
fluid, flee,
- /fl/ (3/3) Two-Dimensionality: flap, flat,
floor,
- /cl/ (1/1) Unclassified: thlyphthoric (pertaining
to that which corrupts women),
- /sl/ (0/3) /sl/ slides, slithers, slips, slogs, slumps,
and slouches. /sl/ slays, slaughters, slits, slashes, slings,
slams, and slaps. /sl/ is slime, slough, slobber, slop, slush,
and sludge.
- /sl/ (1/4) Sliding Movement: slide, slidder (cause
to slip), slither {variant of slidder}, slive, slip, slouch
{through slouch-eared}, slump,
- /sl/ (2/4) Falling Blow: slay, slaughter, slit,
sling (hurl, throw), slash, slap, slam, slog (strike hard),
- /sl/ (3/4) Slime, Slush, Liquid: slime, slough
(muddy ground), slip (soft, semi-liquid mass, curdled milk),
slop (muddy place) {variant of slip}, slobber (slime, slush)
{variant of slop}, slub (sludy mud), slush, sludge, slutch
(slush, mud) {variant of sludge}, slosh, slurry, sluice
- /sl/ (4/4) Slowness: slow, slog, slump, slack, slip, sludge, slumber, sleep, slowth (slow economic growth)
- /Sl/ (1/1) Contempt: schlang (snake; penis),
schlong {variant of schlang}, schlenter (imitation diamond),
schlepp (to move with difficulty or reluctance), schlep
{variant of schlepp}, shlep {variant of schlepp}, schlock
(something of poor quality or inferior construction), schlocky
(worthless), schlemiel, schlungerfunger (snake chaser;
homosexual; slut), shlub, shlump, shlock {variant of schlock},
shlimazel,
Copyright 1997 Ben Shisler