Hypertext Webster Gateway: "diphthong"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Diphthong \Diph"thong\ (?; 115, 277), n. [L. diphthongus, Gr. ?;
di- = di`s- twice + ? voice, sound, fr. ? to utter a sound:
cf. F. diphthongue.] (Ortho["e]py)
(a) A coalition or union of two vowel sounds pronounced in
one syllable; as, ou in out, oi in noise; -- called a
{proper diphthong}.
(b) A vowel digraph; a union of two vowels in the same
syllable, only one of them being sounded; as, ai in
rain, eo in people; -- called an {improper diphthong}.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Diphthong \Diph"thong\, v. t.
To form or pronounce as a diphthong; diphthongize. [R.]
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
diphthong
n : a vowel sound that starts near the articulatory position for
one vowel and moves toward the position for another
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