Standard Lemma guide
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
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
noun
A constructed word said to be an alternative spelling of fish.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: humorous, nonstandard, rare
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Alternative letter-case form of Ghoti.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: alt-of
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
A type of small Bengali waterpot used for washing.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
A Bengali who originates from western Bengal.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: India
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: West Bengali
Antonyms: none provided
History
A jocular spelling of fish (/fɪʃ/) used to illustrate irregularities in English spelling: * gh, /f/ as in rough, /ɹʌf/; * o, /ɪ/ as in women, /ˈwɪm.ɪn/; and * ti, /ʃ/ as in nation, /ˈneɪ̯.ʃən/. Though frequently reported to be a coinage of George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950), this term dates back to at least 1855. Although the goal of the word is to highlight the irregularities of the English orthography, it deliberately exaggerates them, as ⟨gh⟩ is /f/ only word-finally and ⟨ti⟩ is /ʃ/ only before a vowel.
Borrowed from Bengali ঘটি (ghoṭi).
Across languages
7 source translations are retained for this English entry.
