monosyllabicadj.

Brit.

/ˌmɒnə(ʊ)sᵻˈlabɪk/, U.S.

/ˈˌmɑnəsəˈlæbɪk/

Forms: see mono- comb. form and syllabic adj.

Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymon: Latin monosyllabicus.

Etymology: < post-classical Latin monosyllabicus (1267 in R. Bacon) < classical Latin or post-classical Latin monosyllabus , adjective (Pliny, as recorded by a 4th-cent. grammarian; < Hellenistic Greek μονοσύλλαβος : see monosyllabon n.) + -icus -ic suffix. Compare medieval Greek or earlier Greek μονοσυλλαβικός , French monosyllabique (end of the 17th cent.). Compare earlier monosyllabical adj., and also disyllabic adj., trisyllabic adj.

1. Of a person: speaking in monosyllables; uttering few or brief words, esp. as indicative of a reluctance to engage in conversation.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > [adjective]

unspeakinga1382

speechless1390

mutec1400

dumb1406

silenta1425

peaceablec1425

secretc1440

of few wordsa1500

tongue-tied1529

mum1532

closec1540

strait-laced1546

tongue-dumb1556

incommunicable1568

sparing1568

inconversable1577

retentive1599

wordless1604

mumbudget1622

uncommunicable1628

monastica1631

word-bound1644

on (also upon) the reserve1655

strait-mouthed1664

oyster-like1665

incommunicative1670

mumchance1681

speechless1726

taciturnous1727

tongue-tacked1727

monosyllabic1735

silentish1737

untalkative1739

silentious1749

buttoned-up1767

taciturn1771

close as wax1772

untittletattling1779

reticent1825

voiceless1827

say-nothing1838

unremonstrant1841

still1855

unvocal1858

inexpansive186.

short-tongued1864

non-communicating1865

tight-lipped1876

unworded1886

chup1896

tongue-bound1906

shut-mouthed1936

zip-lipped1943

shtum1958

1735 in A. Pope Lit. Corr. (ed. 2) II. p. xxix The monosyllabic West-Saxon Race.

1861 All Year Round 7 Sept. 558/2 A..good-natured, monosyllabic, cigaret-smoking monster.

1870 B. Disraeli Lothair (new ed.) viii Lothair was somewhat monosyllabic and absent.

1892 Mrs. H. Ward David Grieve I. 173 Mr. Ancrum..had been cheered a little during his last days at Clough End by the appearance of David, very red and monosyllabic, on his doorstep.

1917 E. Wharton Summer iii. 37 Mr. Royall, though monosyllabic at home, was not averse, in certain moods, to imparting his views to his fellow-townsmen.

1995 K. O'Riordan Involved 184 Every time Kitty answered she was so cold and monosyllabic, Danny took issue with her rudeness.

a. Of a language, esp. one in its supposed early or primitive form: having only words of one syllable.In Linguistics formerly used as the distinctive epithet of East Asian languages which were thought to have a vocabulary wholly composed of monosyllables, and thus to constitute a distinct language family.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > [adjective] > characterized by syllables

polysyllable1589

polysyllabical1656

monosyllabic1766

polysyllabic1774

polysyllabilingual1824

unsyllabic1864

1766 J. Cleland Way to Things by Words ii. 82 This language..must also in the simplicity of its origin have been purely monosyllabic.

1790 W. Jones in Asiatick Researches (1791) 2 374 It [sc. Chinese] wants those grammatical accents, without which all human tongues would appear monosyllabick.

1815 Q. Rev. 14 97 Of the five classes which we denominated Monosyllabic, Indoeuropean, Tataric, African, and American, the first two only are to be considered as constituted according to correct philological principles.

1822 tr. C. Malte-Brun Universal Geogr. I. 570 The stock or family of the languages of Eastern Asia, or of the Monosyllabic languages, differs entirely from that of the Indo-Germanic languages.

1841 I. D'Israeli Amenities Lit. I. 211 Their Saxon-English is nearly monosyllabic, and their phraseology curt.

1868 F. M. Müller Stratif. Lang. 42 The Thibetan is..tonic and monosyllabic.

1875 W. D. Whitney Life & Growth Lang. xii. 239 If we met with monosyllabic tongues in different parts of the earth, we should have no right to infer their connection.

1904 G. A. Grierson Ling. Surv. India II. 1 The Mōn-Khmēr languages are monosyllabic.

1998 A. Dalby Dict. Langs. 670/2 Wa languages are largely monosyllabic, like their Tai and Tibeto-Burman neighbours.

b. Of a speech, statement, text, etc.: consisting of monosyllables; (in extended use) curt, abrupt.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > conciseness > [adjective] > monosyllabic

monosyllable1697

monosyllabical1755

monosyllabic1774

monosyllabled1838

1774 W. Mitford Ess. Harmony Lang. 149 Where this is the case a monosyllabic line may be spritely in its motion.

1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby xvi. 146 The same gentleman..again made a monosyllabic demonstration, by growling out ‘Resign.’

1866 ‘G. Eliot’ Felix Holt I. 3 Throwing out a monosyllabic hint to his cattle.

1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VIII. 367 The speech is often monosyllabic, a whispered monotone.

1954 W. Lewis Self Condemned vii. 80 A period in his Johnsonian undergraduate days when he was addicted to monosyllabic disapproval.

1990 F. Starn Soup of Day i. v. 21 He and Tristan exchanged monosyllabic expressions of good will over their washing.

3. Of a word or an element of a word: consisting of one syllable.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > [adjective] > syllable > consisting of > consisting of specific number > monosyllabic

monosyllable1589

monosyllabical1656

monosyllabic1766

1766 J. Cleland Way to Things by Words p. iii The difficulty was to hit that middle point between these two extremes, at which the monosyllabic constitutives of the Celtic discernibly take the form of language.

a1831 Encycl. Metrop. (1845) I. 151/1 A short monosyllabic preposition.

1884 H. Sweet in Trans. Philol. Soc. 19 212 Not only in most unstrest syllabls of polysyllabic words, but also in the unstrest monosyllabic words.

1906 Athenæum 12 May 575/1 Monosyllabic roots.

1948 ‘J. Tey’ Franchise Affair vi. 56 Fleet Street had its own name for it—monosyllabic and unprintable.

1993 Lang. in Society 22 513 Many monosyllabic words which were pronounced differently in Classical Chinese later became homonymous in speech.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	monosyllabic
释义	monosyllabicadj. Brit. /ˌmɒnə(ʊ)sᵻˈlabɪk/, U.S. /ˈˌmɑnəsəˈlæbɪk/ Forms: see mono- comb. form and syllabic adj. Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymon: Latin monosyllabicus. Etymology: < post-classical Latin monosyllabicus (1267 in R. Bacon) < classical Latin or post-classical Latin monosyllabus , adjective (Pliny, as recorded by a 4th-cent. grammarian; < Hellenistic Greek μονοσύλλαβος : see monosyllabon n.) + -icus -ic suffix. Compare medieval Greek or earlier Greek μονοσυλλαβικός , French monosyllabique (end of the 17th cent.). Compare earlier monosyllabical adj., and also disyllabic adj., trisyllabic adj. 1. Of a person: speaking in monosyllables; uttering few or brief words, esp. as indicative of a reluctance to engage in conversation. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > taciturnity or reticence > [adjective] unspeakinga1382 speechless1390 mutec1400 dumb1406 silenta1425 peaceablec1425 secretc1440 of few wordsa1500 tongue-tied1529 mum1532 closec1540 strait-laced1546 tongue-dumb1556 incommunicable1568 sparing1568 inconversable1577 retentive1599 wordless1604 mumbudget1622 uncommunicable1628 monastica1631 word-bound1644 on (also upon) the reserve1655 strait-mouthed1664 oyster-like1665 incommunicative1670 mumchance1681 speechless1726 taciturnous1727 tongue-tacked1727 monosyllabic1735 silentish1737 untalkative1739 silentious1749 buttoned-up1767 taciturn1771 close as wax1772 untittletattling1779 reticent1825 voiceless1827 say-nothing1838 unremonstrant1841 still1855 unvocal1858 inexpansive186. short-tongued1864 non-communicating1865 tight-lipped1876 unworded1886 chup1896 tongue-bound1906 shut-mouthed1936 zip-lipped1943 shtum1958 1735 in A. Pope Lit. Corr. (ed. 2) II. p. xxix The monosyllabic West-Saxon Race. 1861 All Year Round 7 Sept. 558/2 A..good-natured, monosyllabic, cigaret-smoking monster. 1870 B. Disraeli Lothair (new ed.) viii Lothair was somewhat monosyllabic and absent. 1892 Mrs. H. Ward David Grieve I. 173 Mr. Ancrum..had been cheered a little during his last days at Clough End by the appearance of David, very red and monosyllabic, on his doorstep. 1917 E. Wharton Summer iii. 37 Mr. Royall, though monosyllabic at home, was not averse, in certain moods, to imparting his views to his fellow-townsmen. 1995 K. O'Riordan Involved 184 Every time Kitty answered she was so cold and monosyllabic, Danny took issue with her rudeness. 2. a. Of a language, esp. one in its supposed early or primitive form: having only words of one syllable.In Linguistics formerly used as the distinctive epithet of East Asian languages which were thought to have a vocabulary wholly composed of monosyllables, and thus to constitute a distinct language family. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > [adjective] > characterized by syllables polysyllable1589 polysyllabical1656 monosyllabic1766 polysyllabic1774 polysyllabilingual1824 unsyllabic1864 1766 J. Cleland Way to Things by Words ii. 82 This language..must also in the simplicity of its origin have been purely monosyllabic. 1790 W. Jones in Asiatick Researches (1791) 2 374 It [sc. Chinese] wants those grammatical accents, without which all human tongues would appear monosyllabick. 1815 Q. Rev. 14 97 Of the five classes which we denominated Monosyllabic, Indoeuropean, Tataric, African, and American, the first two only are to be considered as constituted according to correct philological principles. 1822 tr. C. Malte-Brun Universal Geogr. I. 570 The stock or family of the languages of Eastern Asia, or of the Monosyllabic languages, differs entirely from that of the Indo-Germanic languages. 1841 I. D'Israeli Amenities Lit. I. 211 Their Saxon-English is nearly monosyllabic, and their phraseology curt. 1868 F. M. Müller Stratif. Lang. 42 The Thibetan is..tonic and monosyllabic. 1875 W. D. Whitney Life & Growth Lang. xii. 239 If we met with monosyllabic tongues in different parts of the earth, we should have no right to infer their connection. 1904 G. A. Grierson Ling. Surv. India II. 1 The Mōn-Khmēr languages are monosyllabic. 1998 A. Dalby Dict. Langs. 670/2 Wa languages are largely monosyllabic, like their Tai and Tibeto-Burman neighbours. b. Of a speech, statement, text, etc.: consisting of monosyllables; (in extended use) curt, abrupt. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > conciseness > [adjective] > monosyllabic monosyllable1697 monosyllabical1755 monosyllabic1774 monosyllabled1838 1774 W. Mitford Ess. Harmony Lang. 149 Where this is the case a monosyllabic line may be spritely in its motion. 1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby xvi. 146 The same gentleman..again made a monosyllabic demonstration, by growling out ‘Resign.’ 1866 ‘G. Eliot’ Felix Holt I. 3 Throwing out a monosyllabic hint to his cattle. 1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VIII. 367 The speech is often monosyllabic, a whispered monotone. 1954 W. Lewis Self Condemned vii. 80 A period in his Johnsonian undergraduate days when he was addicted to monosyllabic disapproval. 1990 F. Starn Soup of Day i. v. 21 He and Tristan exchanged monosyllabic expressions of good will over their washing. 3. Of a word or an element of a word: consisting of one syllable. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > [adjective] > syllable > consisting of > consisting of specific number > monosyllabic monosyllable1589 monosyllabical1656 monosyllabic1766 1766 J. Cleland Way to Things by Words p. iii The difficulty was to hit that middle point between these two extremes, at which the monosyllabic constitutives of the Celtic discernibly take the form of language. a1831 Encycl. Metrop. (1845) I. 151/1 A short monosyllabic preposition. 1884 H. Sweet in Trans. Philol. Soc. 19 212 Not only in most unstrest syllabls of polysyllabic words, but also in the unstrest monosyllabic words. 1906 Athenæum 12 May 575/1 Monosyllabic roots. 1948 ‘J. Tey’ Franchise Affair vi. 56 Fleet Street had its own name for it—monosyllabic and unprintable. 1993 Lang. in Society 22 513 Many monosyllabic words which were pronounced differently in Classical Chinese later became homonymous in speech. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < adj.1735
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