Standard Lemma guide

diaphoneme

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • General-American: /ˈdaɪəˌfoʊnim/
  • General-American: /ˌdaɪəˈfoʊnim/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /daɪəˈfəʊniːm/

1

noun

Meaning 1

An abstract phonological unit that represents collectively the dialectal variants of a phoneme.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, phonology, sciences

Examples

  • The transcription /oː‖əʊ‖oʊ/ or {oː} represents the diaphoneme descended from the ancestral Old English phoneme /oː/, which is preserved in Irish English as [oː] but has become [əʊ] in Received Pronunciation and as [oʊ] in General American.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From dia- + phoneme.

Across languages

Translations

3 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Dutch: diafoneem — abstract phonological unit denoting all the dialectal variations of a phoneme
  • Hungarian: diafonéma — abstract phonological unit denoting all the dialectal variations of a phoneme
  • Russian: диафоне́ма (diafonéma) — abstract phonological unit denoting all the dialectal variations of a phoneme