Skip to main content

Word of the Day – Phonesthemic

By September 28, 2025Word of the Day

Phonesthemic (adj)

fo-nes-thee-mik

(of a speech sound) shared by a set of echoic or symbolic words, as the sn- of sneer, snarl, snatch, snide, snitch, snoop, etc.

phonestheme such a sound or group of sounds (coined by J. R. Firth in 1930; apparently phon- + (a)esth(etic) + -eme ) + -ic

Example sentences

“I love the feeling of saying phonesthemic words like slippery, slithery, slimy, snake.”

Word of the Day – Splenetic

| Word of the Day | No Comments
Word of the Day - Splenetic (adj) splen-et-ik

Word of the Day – Sylph

| Word of the Day | No Comments
Word of the Day - Sylph (noun) silf

New report shows figures double in non-fiction book bans in US schools

| News | No Comments
A new report from PEN America – a non-profit protecting freedom of expression – has highlighted that book bans for non-fiction titles in US schools have doubled during the 2024-2025…

Word of the Day – Sylvan

| Word of the Day | No Comments
Word of the Day - Sylvan (noun) sil-van

Word of the Day – Fewmet

| Word of the Day | No Comments
Word of the Day - Fewmet (noun) (archaic) few-met

Word of the Day – Matrilineal

| Word of the Day | No Comments
Word of the Day - Matrilineal (noun) mat-ri-lin-ee-al

Word of the Day – Halcyon

| Word of the Day | No Comments
Word of the Day - Halcyon (adj) hal-see-on

Bookshop specialising in Black literature saved from closure

| News | No Comments
Brighton-based bookshop, Afrori Books, has been saved from potential closure after a successful campaign of bookselling. Carolynn Bain, who founded Afrori in 2020 in the wake of the Black Lives…

Word of the Day – Piquant

| Word of the Day | No Comments
Word of the Day - Piquant (adj) pee-khant