释义 |
rh a consonantal digraph used in Latin, and hence in English, French, and other languages, to represent Gr. initial ῥ (with spiritus asper); in English it has the same phonetic value as the simple r. In med.L., OF., and consequently in ME., the h was frequently dropped (see rhetoric, rheum1), and in a few instances (e.g. rachis, raphe) custom has sanctioned its omission in mod.English. Gr. medial ρρ (formerly often printed ῤῥ) is normally represented by rrh (as in diarrhœa). While OE. initial hr is rarely represented in later periods by rh, a large number of variant spellings are found with rh where it is etymologically inappropriate (cf. rhine1). |