How to pronounce Cuneiform? | |
1 entry |
Pronunciation of Cuneiform in Canada (Ottawa, Vancouver) and Oxford, England
"CUE"-nih-"form"nih represents the short ni- sound, as in" nip", not the long ni- sound, as in "nine"
Type of Name:
Never heard this as a name!
Alternate Spelling(s):
Cuniform
Meaning:
wedge-shaped, usually applied to ancient Sumerian writing, made by pressing a stylus into soft clay
Additional Information:
No idea why Cuneiform was listed here, but I saw it listed as needing a pronunciation guide. (First visit heren trying to see why almost everyone mispronounces "Gandalf".)
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Cuneiform pronunciation
Cue-nih-form
Prior to about the late 1930s, Oxford dons sometimes pronounced it cue-nay-ih-form or cue-nee-ih-form and one will still very occasionally hear it pronounced it that way. By the Oxford Universal Dictionary, 3rd Edition, 1944, (at least), cuniform is an accepted alternative spelling.
From the Latin cuneus, wedge-shaped. Although moden Latin usually pronounces it with a long u (kewny-us) it is most likely that ancient Romans pronounced it with a short u sound (cunny-us). Most of the English words from this root are now pronounced with the long u, with cunnilingus and its vulgar relatives being notable exceptions.
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