| January |
Jan•u•a•ry |
jăn′yoo͞-ĕr′ē |
/ˈdʒæn.ju.ɛr.i/ |
4 syllables; capitalized month |
First month of the year; named after Janus |
| February |
Feb•ru•a•ry |
fĕb′roo͞-ĕr′ē |
/ˈfɛb.ru.ɛr.i/ |
4 syllables; capitalized month |
Second month; note the 'r' after 'b' |
| March |
March |
märch |
/mɑːrtʃ/ |
1 syllable; /är/ + digraph ch |
Third month; named after Mars |
| April |
A•pril |
ā′prĭl |
/ˈeɪ.prɪl/ |
2 syllables; open 1st syllable (long ā) |
Fourth month; spring season |
| May |
May |
mā |
/meɪ/ |
1 syllable; long ā spelled -ay |
Fifth month; open root word |
| June |
June |
jo͞on |
/dʒuːn/ |
1 syllable; long u with silent e |
Sixth month; start of summer |
| July |
Ju•ly |
jo͞o-lī′ |
/dʒuːˈlaɪ/ |
2 syllables; iambic stress (open -y = /aɪ/) |
Seventh month; named after Julius Caesar |
| August |
Aug•ust |
aw′gəst |
/ˈɔː.ɡəst/ |
2 syllables; au = /ɔː/ + schwa -ust |
Eighth month; named after Augustus Caesar |
| September |
Sep•tem•ber |
sĕp-tĕm′bẽr |
/sɛpˈtɛm.bər/ |
3 syllables; 3 closed syllables + -er |
Ninth month; Latin septem (seven) |
| October |
Oc•to•ber |
ŏk-tō′bẽr |
/ɒkˈtoʊ.bər/ |
3 syllables; closed + open + -er |
Tenth month; Latin octo (eight) |
| November |
No•vem•ber |
nō-vĕm′bẽr |
/noʊˈvɛm.bər/ |
3 syllables; open + closed + -er |
Eleventh month; Latin novem (nine) |
| December |
De•cem•ber |
dĭ-sĕm′bẽr |
/dɪˈsɛm.bər/ |
3 syllables; soft c says /s/ before e |
Twelfth month; Latin decem (ten) |
| library |
li•brar•y |
lī′brĕr′ē |
/ˈlaɪ.brər.i/ |
3 syllables; open 1st syllable + -ary |
Academic term; Latin liber (book) |
| a lot |
a lot |
ā lŏt |
/ə lɒt/ |
2 separate words; never 'alot' |
Noun phrase indicating large quantity |
| all right |
all right |
awl rīt |
/ɔːl raɪt/ |
2 separate words; silent -gh- |
Adjective phrase indicating satisfactory/okay |
| way |
way |
wā |
/weɪ/ |
Long ā spelled -ay |
Direction, path, or method; homophone with weigh |
| weigh |
weigh |
wā |
/weɪ/ |
Long ā spelled -eigh |
Verb to measure heaviness; homophone with way |