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leather; especially, one used for fastening anything. And nails for loosened spears, and thongs for shields, provide. Dryden. Thong seal (Zoöl.), the bearded seal. See the Note under Seal.

A letter, or a combination of letters, employed in spelling a word, but in the pronunciation having no sound. -- Aph*thon"gal, a.

wel sounds pronounced in one syllable; as, ou in out, oi in noise; -- called a proper diphthong.

Relating or belonging to a diphthong; having the nature of a diphthong. -- Diph*thon"gal*ly, adv.

To make into a diphthong; to pronounce as a diphthong.

See Diphthongization.

Of the nature of diphthong; diphthongal. H. Sweet.

The act of changing into a diphthong. H. Sweet.

To change into a diphthong, as by affixing another vowel to a simple vowel. "The diphthongized long vowels." H. Sweet.

A single uncompounded vowel sound.

Consisting of, or pertaining to, a monophthong.

Formed into, or characterized by, voice; vocalized; -- said of all the vowels and the semivowels, also of the vocal or sonant consonants g, d, b, l, r, v, z, etc.

An instrument for measuring vocal sounds. Whewell.

ackish seaweed (Himanthalia lorea) found on the northern coasts of the Atlantic. It has a thonglike forking process rising from a top-shaped base.

er a single sound; a trigraph; as, eye, -ieu in adieu, -eau in beau, are examples of triphthongs.

Of or pertaining to a triphthong; consisting of three vowel sounds pronounced together in a single syllable.

A diphthong in the Latin language; used also by the Saxon writers. It answers to the Gr. æ was generally replaced by a, the long e or ee. In derivatives from Latin words with ae, it is mostly superseded by e. For most words found with this initial combination, the reader will therefore search under the letter E.…

pe, as of color, round any organ; or any circular ridge or series of ridges. Belt lacing, thongs used for lacing together the ends of machine belting.

Suited to produce low spirits; gloomy in prospect; as, thongs looked blue. [Colloq.]

A thong of soft leather to bind up a hawk's wing.