PRONOUNCING DICTIONARY

AND EXPOSITOR OF THE

ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

The figures refer to the numbers in the Principles of Pronunciation prefixed to this Dictionary, where the different sounds of the letters are explained at large. Thus 73 refers to the first sound of the letter A; 93 to the first sound of the letter E, and so of the rest.

The figures over the letters refer to the vowels in the words at the top of the page; and the index before these words refers to the table of simple and diphthongal sounds, where the different sounds of the vowels are exhibited at one view.

559 refers to the table in page 71

A

IP 589 Fate 73, får 77, fall 83, fåt 81; mè 93, met 95, 164, når 167, nôt 163; tube 171, tủb 172, båll 173; öll 299;

The first letter of the alphabet, 73. A, an article set before nouns of the singular number; a man, a tree. Before a word beginDing with a vowel, it is written an, as an ox. A is sometimes a noun, as great A. A is plared before a participle, or participial noun: gone a hunting, come a begging. A has a sig. nification denoting proportion: the landlord bath a hundred a year.

The change of the letter a into an before a Towel or mute h for the sake of sound, seems to deserve more attention than has generally been given to it by any of our grammarians, and will therefore be considered under the arLice da; which see.

Of the Alphabetical Pronunciation of the
Letter A.

Thus

pine 105, pin 107; no 162, måve pỏùnd 313; thin 466, THIS 469. this long open sound is threefold, as heard in face, father, and water, a question arises, which of these long sounds shall we adopt as a common name to the whole species of this letter? The English make choice of the a in face, the Irish of that in father, and the Scotch of that in water. Each party produces words where the letter a is sounded in the manner they contend for; but when we demand why one should have the preference, the controversy is commonly at an end; any farther reasons are either too remote or too insignificant to be produced and indeed, if a diversity of names to vowels did not confound us in our spelling, or declaring to each other the component letters of a word, it would be entirely needless to enter into so trifling a question as the mere name of a letter; but when we find ourselves unable to convey signs to each other on account of this diversity of names, and that words themselves are endangered by an improper utterance of their component parts, it seems highly incumbent on us to attempt a uniformity in this point, which, insignificant as it may seem, is undoubtedly the foundation of a just and regular pronunciation.

So many profound and ingenious observations have been made upon this first step to literature, that volumes might be filled with the erudition that has been lavished on this letter | alone. The priority of place it claims, in all alphabets, has made it so much the object of attention, that philologists suppose the foundation of learning but weakly laid till the naturalThe first rule for naming a letter, when pronoun and civil history of the first letter be fully set

But, however deep have been their researches Lato the arigin of this letter, we find no author in our language has hitherto attempted to setde the disputes that have arisen between the natives of England, Ireland, and Scotland, about the true sound of it, when called by its ne. Instead, therefore, of tracing this charwer through the circles of Gomer, the Egyp

Hieroglyphics, the mysterious Abraxas, er the Irish Ogum, I shall endeavour to obviate a difficulty that frequently arises when it is pronounced in the Hornbook: or, in other words to inquire what is the true name of the first better of the English alphabet-whether we are to say Aye, B, C; ah, B, C; or Ac,

B. C.

And first it will be necessary to consider the nature of a vowel; which grammarians are generally agreed in defining to be "a simple arti*culate sound, formed by the impulse of the Toce by the opening only of the mouth in a particular manner." Now, as every vowel by itself is sounded long, as nothing but its Jition with a consonant can make it otherwe, a natural, when pronouncing this vow.

me to give it the long open sound; but as

ced alone, seems to be this: Whatever sound we give to a letter when terminating a syllable, the same sound ought to be given to it when pronounced alone; because, in both cases, they have their primary, simple sound, uninfluenced by a succeeding vowel or consonant; and therefore, when we pronounce a letter alone, it ought to have such a sound as does not suppose the existence of any other letter. But wherever a terminates a syllable with the accent upon it, (the only state in which it can be said to be pure,) it has always the English sound of that letter. The only exceptions to this rule are, the words fa-ther, ma-ster, and wa ter; and that these are merely exceptions, appears from the uniformity with which the a is pronounced otherwise in parent, papal, taper, fatal, &c. The other vowels have their names exactly similar to the sound they bave in a similar situation, as the e like that in me-grim, the i like the i in title; the o as the o in no-ble, and the u like the u in tu-tor. Thus, as it ap pears from the general analogy of pronuncia. tion, that the sound of the a, which the English adopt, is the only one that does not necessarily suppose the existence of any other sound, it inevitably follows that theirs only is the proper appellation of that letter.

559.-Fate, får, fåll, fât;—mẻ, mēt;—pîne, pîn ;—

But there is another analogy by which we may
determine the true sound of the vowels when
pronounced singly; and that is, the sound they
have when preserved long and open by the final
e. Thus we call the letter e by the sound it has
in theme, the letter i as it sounds in time, the let-
tar o as heard in tone, and the u as in tune;
and why the letter a should not be pronounced
as heard in face, cannot be conceived; as each
of the other vowels has, like a, a variety of other
sounds, as they are united with letters which,
in some measure, alter their quality.
In consequence of entertaining a different idea of
the a, when pronounced in the alphabet, we see
the natives of Ireland very prone to a different
pronunciation of the words where this letter oc-
curs; and, indeed, it is quite consistent with
their doctrine of the sound of a, that the words
parent, papal, taper, and fatal, should be pro-
nounced pah-rent, pah-pal, tah-per, and fah-tal.
We find the Scotch likewise inclinable to the
same pronunciation of a, when in words, as
when alone. Thus we hear Sawtan, for Satan.
sawcred for sacred, and law-ity for laity; and this
is perfectly consistent with the manner in which
they pronounce the letter a, when alone: there
is no medium. If this be not the true pronun-
ciation of these words, the a is certainly to be
sounded as the English do: for, whenever the
English give the Italian sound, as it may be
called, to the a, except in the words father and
master, it is always in consequence of its junction
with some consonant, which determines it to
that sound; as in monosyllables terminating in
r, as bar, car, far; but where it is not affected by
a succeeding consonant, as in the words parent,
papul, natal, fatal, we then hear it pronounced as
the slender English a, both in and out of com-
position.

a, therefore, as the first character in the alpha bet, may always be said to have the accent, and ought to have the same long, open sound, as is given to that letter when accented in a syllable, and not influenced in its sound by any preceding or succeeding consonant.

We may therefore conclude, that if all vowels when pronounced alone, are accented and long, if spelling be the pronunciation of letters alone, (as it would be absurd to suppose ourselves acquainted with the different consonants that determine the sound of the vowels before they are pronounced,) it follows, that in spelling, or repeating the component parts of a word, wo ought to give those parts their simple and uncombined sound: but there is no uncombined sound of the vowel a, except the slender sound contended for, unless in the words father and master; and therefore, when we repeat letters singly, in order to declare the sound of a word, we must undoubtedly give the first letter of the alphabet the sound we ever give it in the first syllable of the numerous class la-dy, pa-gan, ma-son, ba-son, &c.

Thus, after placing every objection in its stron
gest light, and deducing our arguments from the
simplest and clearest principles, this important
question seems at last decided in favour of the
English; who, independent of the arguments
in their favour, may be presumed to have a natu-
ral right to determine the name of the letter in
question, though it has been so often litigated
by their formidable and learned, though junior
relations. For though, in some cases, the na
tives of Ireland and Scotland adhere rather
more closely to analogy than the English them
selves, yet in this we find the English pronounce
perfectly agreeable to rule; and that the slen
der pronunciation of the letter a, as they pro
nounce it in the alphabet, is no more than giv
ing it that simple sound, it ever has, when un
connected with vowels or consonants that alter
its power.

ABACUS, âb'â-kås. s. [Latin.] A counting table,
the uppermost member of a column.
ABAFT, â-båft', ad. 545. From the fore part of a
ship, towards the stern.

To ABANDON, å-bân dân. v. a. To give up, re
sign, or quit; to desert; to forsake. 166.
ABANDONED, à-bân dând. par. 362. Given up,
forsaken; corrupted in the highest degree.
ABANDONMENT, &-bân'dan-ment. s. The act
of abandoning.

It will, perhaps, be objected, that the most fre-
quent short sound of a, as heard in cat, rat, mat,
carry, marry, parry, is the short sound of the
Italian a in father, car, mar, par, and not the
short sound of the a in care, mare, and pare: but
it may be answered, that this want of corres-
pondence between the name of the letter, and
the most frequent short sound, is common to
the rest of the vowels: for the o, as heard in
cot, not, rot, is not the short sound of the o in)
coat, note, wrote, but of the a in water, or of the
diphthongs in caught, naught, and wrought; and if
we ought to call the a, ah, because its short
sound corresponds to ah, for the very same rea-
son we ought to call the o,au; and a similar alter-||ABARTICULATION, åb-år-tik-d-là'shån. 6. 290
ation must take place with the rest of the vow- That species of articulation that has manifes
els. As therefore, from the variety of sounds motion.
the vowels have, it is impossible to avoid the in-
convenience of sometimes sounding the letter
one way in a syllable, and another way in a|ABASEMENT, &-base'mênt. s. The state of being
word, we must either adopt the simple long
sound when we would pronounce the letter
alone, or invent new names for every different
sound in a different word, in order to obviate
the difficulty.

To ABASE, â-båse'. v. a. To cast down, to depress, to bring low.

brought low; depression.

To ABASH, a-bash'. v. a. To make ashamed.
To ABATE, à-båte'. v. a. 545. To lessen, to di-
minish.

To ABATE, á-båte'. v. n. To grow less.
ABATEMENT, â-båte'ment. s. The act of aba-
ting; the sum or quantity taken away by the
act of abating.

must not be dissembled, however, that the||
sound of a, when terminating a syllable not
under the accent, seems more inclined to the
Irish than the English a, and that the ear is less
disgusted with the sound of Ah-mer-i-cah than
of A-mer-i-cay: but to this it may be answered,||
that letters not under the accent, in a thousand
instances deviate from their true scund; that
the vowel a, like several other vowels in a final|
syllable not accented, has an obscure sound,
bordering on ; but if the a, in this situation,
were proncunced ever so distinctly, and that
this pronunciation were clearly the a in father,
it would be nothing to the purpose: when the a
is pronounced alone, it may be said not only to
be a letter, but a distinct character, and a noun
substantive; and, as such, has the same force ABBREVIATION, âb-brè-vè-á'shům. s. The act
as the letters in an accented syilable. The letter of shortening

ABATER, 4-ba tår. s. 98. The agent or cause by
which an abatement is procured.
ABB, áb. s. The yarn on a weaver's warp.
ABBACY, ab'bâ-sè. 8. 51. The rights, possess-
ions, or privileges of an abbot.
ABBESS, âb'bess. s. The superior of a nua-

nery.

ABBEY, or ABBY, ab'bè. s. 270. A monastery of religious persons, whether men or women. ABBOT, âb'båt. s. 166. The chief of a couvent of

men.

To ABBREVIATE, Ab-brè'vè-åte. v. a. To shorten, to cut short. 505.

-pò, môve, nôr, nôt;-tube, tub, bâll;-8ll;-pôånd;—thin, THIS. ABBREVIATOR, áb-brè-vè-à'tår. s. One who abridges. 621. ABBREVIATURE, åb-bre'vè-a-tshåre. s. 461. AABJURATION, âb-jù-rà'shan, s. The act of abmark used for shortening juring; the oath taken for that end. To ABDICATE, ab'de-kate. v. a. To give up To ABLACTATE, ab-lak'tate. v. a. right, to resign. 503.

ABDICATION, áb-de-ka'shun. s. The act of ab-ABLACTATION, áb-lák-tå'shản. s. One of the

Dr. Johnson places the accent on the first syllable of this word, and Mr. Sheridan and Mr.ABLATION, áb-là'shûn. s. The act of taking Perry, on the second. The former is, in my opinion, the most correct. ABDOMEN, Ab-do'mên. s. 503. A cavity commonly called the lower venter or belly. 521. ABDOMINAL, âb-dòm'mè-nâl. ABDOMINOUS, ab-dôm'me-nos. Relating to the abdomen.

10 ABET, &-bét”. v. a. To push forward another;|| to support him in his designs, by connivance, encouragement, or help.

ABETMENT, &-bêtment. s. The act of abetting. ARETTER, or ABETTOR, â-bět 'tår. s. He that abets: the supporter or encourager of another. 10, 418

ABEYANCE, A-ba'inse. s. The right of fee sim-
pie larth m abeyance, when it is all only in the
France, intendment, and consideration
of the law,

To ABHOR, Sb-hór'. v. a. 163. To hate with ac-
rimony; to loathe.
ABHORRENCE, b-bor'rènse.
AEHORRENCY, kh-hơr rền-sẻ.

ABOVE ALL, á-büv-äll'.

chiefly.

559-Fate, får, fåll, fât;-mè, mêt ;-pine, pîn ;—

In the first place; || To ABSENT, åb-sent'. v. a. To withdraw, to forbear to come into presence.

ABOVÉ-BOARD, f-bûv'börd. In open sight;||
without artifice or trick.
ABOVE-CITED, â-bûv'sited. Cited before.
ABOVE-GROUND, á-buv'ground. An expression
used to signify, that a man is alive; not in the

grave.

ABOVE-MENTIONED, ú-båv'mên-shånd. See
ABOVE-CITED.

To ABOUND, â-bound'. v. n. 545. To have in
great plenty; to be in great plenty.
ABOUT, â-bout'. prep. 545. Round, surround-
ing, encircling; near to; concerning, with re-
gard to, relating to; engaged in, employed]
upon; appendant to the person, as clothes, &c.;|
relating to the person, as a servant.
ABOUT, â-bôût'. ad. Circularly; in circuit;
nearly; the longest way, in opposition to the
short straight way; to bring about, to bring to
the point or state desired; as, he has brought
about his purposes; to come about, to come to
some certain state or point; to go about a thing,
to prepare to do it.

ABRACADABRA, âb-rå-kâ-dâb'râ.

stitious charm against agues.

A super

To ABRADE, â-bråde'. v. a. To rub off, to wear
away from the other parts.
ABRASION, &-brå'zhân. s. The act of rubbing,
a rubbing off.

ABREAST, â-brêst'. ad. 545. Side by side.
To ABRIDGE, à-bridje'. v. a. To make shorter

in words, keeping sull the same substance; to contract, to diminish, to cut short; to deprive of. ABRIDGED OF, â-bridjd' öv. Deprived of, debarred from. 359.

An ABRIDGER, à-brid'jar. s. He that abridges, a shortener; a writer of compendiums or abridg

ments.

ABRIDGMENT, &-bridje'mênt. s. The contraction of a larger work into a small compass; a diminution in general.

ABROACH, â-brotsh', ad. 295. In a posture to
run out; in a state of being diffused or propa-
gated.

ABROAD, â-bråwd'. ad. 295. Out of the house;
in another country; without, not within.
To ABROGATE, ab'rò-gate. v. a. To take
away
from a law in force; to repeal, to annul. 91.
ABROGATION, áb-ró-ga'shun. s. The act of
abrogating; the repeal of a law.
ABRUPT, ab-råpt'. a. Broken, craggy; sudden,
without the customary or proper preparatives.
ABRUPTION, ab-rup'shân. s. Violent and sud-

den separation.

ABRUPTLY, åb-ript'lè. að. Hastily, without
the due forms of preparation.
ABRUPTNESS, ab-rupt'ness. s. An abrupt man-
ner, haste, suddenness.

ABSCESS, ab'sess. s. A morbid cavity in the body.
To ABSCIND, áb-sind'. v. a. To cut off.
ABSCISSION, áb-sizh an. s. The act of cutting off;
the state of being cut off.

ABSENTEE, áb-sên-tè'. s. A word used commonly with regard to Irishmen living out of their country.

ABSINTHIATED, åb-sîn'the-à-têd. p. Impreg

nated with wormwood.

To ABSIST, ûb-sist'. v. n. To stand off, to leave off.

To ABSOLVE, âb-zôlv', v. a. 448. To clear, to acquit of a crime in a judicial sense; to set free from an engagement or promise; to pronounce a sin remitted, in the ecclesiastical sense. ABSOLUTE, ab'sò-låte. a. 448. Complete, applied as well to persons as things; uncondition al, as an absolute promise; not relative, as absolute space; not limited, as absolute power. See DOMESTIC.

ABSOLUTELY, ab'sò-lute-lè. ad. Completely, without restriction; without condition; peremptory, positively.

ABSOLUTENESS, ab'so-lute-ness. s. Complete-
ness; freedom from dependence, or limits;
despotism.

ABSOLUTION, åb-so-ld'shan. s. Acquittal; the
remission of sins, or of penance.
ABSOLUTORY, áb-sôl'å-tår-rè. a. That which
absolves.

In the first edition of this Dictionary I followed the accentuation of Johnson and Ash in this word, and placed the stress upon the first syllable, contrary to what I had done some years before in the Rhyming Dictionary, where I had placed the accent on the second, and which was the accentuation adopted by Mr. Sheridon. Upon a nearer inspection of the analogies of the language, I find this the preferable mode of marking it, as words in this termination, though very irregular, generally follow the stress of the corresponding noun or verb; and consequently this word ought to have the same accent as absolve, which is the more immediate relation of the word in question, and not the accent of absolute, which is the most distant. 512. Kenrick, W. Johnston, Entick, and Nares, have not inserted this word; and Mr. Perry very improperly accents it upon the third syllable.

ABSONANT, ab'sò-nânt. a. 544. Contrary to

reason.

ABSONOUS, ab'sò-nås. a. Absurd, contrary to

reason.

To ABSORB, ab-sorb'. v. a. To swallow up; to suck up.

ABSORBENT, âb-sor'bent. s. A medicine that sucks up humours.

ABSORPT, ab-sorpt'. p. Swallowed up.
ABSORPTION, áb-sorp'shûn. s. The act of
swallowing up.

To ABSTAIN, ab-ståne'. v. n. To forbear, to de-
ny one's self any gratification.
ABSTEMIOUS, åb-stè mè-ds a. Temperate, so-
ber, abstinent.

I have differed from Mr. Sheridan in marking the ss in this word; and, I think, with the best usage on my side. Though double s is almost always pronounced sharp and hissing, yet when a sharp s precedes, it seems more agree- || able to the ear to pronounce the succeeding s flat. Thus, though the termination ition is al-To ABSTERGE, áb-stèrje', v. a. To cleanse, ways sharp, yet because the s in transition is necessarily sharp, the t goes into the flat sound,|| as if written transizhion, which see.

ABSTEMIOUSLY, ab-stè mè-us-lè. ad. Tempe-
rately, soberly, without indulgence.
ABSTEMIOUSNESS, ab-ste'me-us-ness. 9. 534.
The quality of being abstemious.
ABSTENTION, âb-sten'shun. s. The act of hold.
ing off.

To ABSCOND, áb-skônd'. v. a. To hide one's self.

ABSCONDER, åb-skôn'dår. s. The person that

absconds.

by wiping

ABSTERGENT, åb-stêr'jênt. a. Cleansing; hav-
ing a cleansing quality.

To ABSTERSE, áb-stérse'. v. a. To cleanse, to
purify.
ABSTERSION, ab-ster'shản. s.
cleansing.

The act of

ABSENCE, ab'sense. s. The state of being ab-ARSTERSIVE, Ab-ster'siv. a. 428. That has the sent, opposed to presence; inattention, heed-1 lessness, neglect of the present object. ABSENT, ab'sent. a. 492. Not present; absent in mind, inattentive.

quality of absterging or cleansing. ABSTINENCE, ab'ste-nense. s. Forbearance of any thing; fasting, or forbearance of necessary food.