diphthongal

diph·thong·al
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/dɪfˈθɔŋɡəl/

adjective

Pertaining to or characterized by a diphthong.

OriginProto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? ← English diphthong ← French diphtongue →
Scrabble 21
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Meanings

adjectivediphthongal (not comparable)
  1. not comparablePertaining to or characterized by a diphthong.

    ‘This,’ the colonel said […] ‘is a lampshade. It looks like an ordinary lampshade. It was taken from the bedside lamp of Frau Koch. It’s genuine human skin.’ It sounded more gruesome spoken in his diphthongal southern manner—skee-ern.

    1980, Anthony Burgess, chapter 56, in Earthly Powers, Penguin, published 1981, page 456

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
diphthongy

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*dwóh₁
  2. Proto-Indo-European*dwi-
  3. Proto-Hellenic*dwi-
  4. Ancient Greekδι- (di-)
  5. Ancient Greekφθέγγομαι (phthéngomai)
  6. Ancient Greekφθόγγος (phthóngos)
  7. Ancient Greekδίφθογγος (díphthongos)
  8. Latindiphthongu
  9. Frenchdiphtongue
  10. Englishdiphthong
  11. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  12. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  13. Englishdiphthongal

From diphthong + -al.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Spanish diptongal
  • diptongalTranslations
Cite this entry
APA

diphthongal. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/diphthongal

MLA

“diphthongal.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/diphthongal. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “diphthongal,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/diphthongal.

Source: diphthongal on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.