# Words You’ve Never Heard Pronounced **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 1, 2022, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774 "2022-05-01T22:23:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2022, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/221 "2022-05-14T22:09:50Z")
🤨 I’ve only ever heard that word as “DOUGH-cent” ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2022, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/222 "2022-05-14T22:59:27Z")
[quote=“Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi, post:208, topic:963774”] Army creole gave me many words I mispronounce on purpose. These include “specific” and “vehicle.” I ought to stop doing that.[/quote] Don’t stop! All the cool kids mispronounce things on purpose, because we know it irks certain frowny-face people. When The Simpsons made fun of Homer for saying “nucular”, I decided then and there that I would always do likewise, because I hate that show for not expiring decades ago. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/223 "2022-05-15T00:40:01Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Can’t remember hearing _beat-i-FY_ pronounced. The contestant pronounced the word _be-AT-i-fy_ . Suppose that’s right You obviously didn’t grow up Catholic. Be-AT-i-fy is correct. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/224 "2022-05-15T00:51:06Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > You obviously didn’t grow up Catholic. Be-AT-i-fy is correct… And not just Catholic. The sequence “Blessed are the poor in spirit… meek… pure in heart… cheesemakers…” in the Sermon on the Mount is known as the beatitudes. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/225 "2022-05-15T00:55:01Z")
I was thinking of the sainthood process. But, yeah, other contexts apply as well. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/226 "2022-05-15T04:17:46Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > . . . known as the beatitudes. The attitudes of 1950s era Beatniks? (Pronounced Be-AT-niks?) ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/227 "2022-05-15T04:58:33Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > If people knew the word from having heard it, how did they imagine it was spelled if not “misled”? Mislead, obviously. It will probably not surprise you that I still have to think about whether the related verb in the past tense is led or lead. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/228 "2022-05-15T05:08:45Z")
> [@Briny\_Deep](#): > > I used to cringe whenever I heard “be-HEM-oth,” because I think it’s BEE-a-muth, but really, who’s to say? I’m guessing the pronunciation of the Hebrew word would be the most authentic. From wikipedia: בְּהֵמוֹת, _bəhēmōṯ_. Assuming Google Translate gives the correct pronunciation, it’s bah-hah-MAWT. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/229 "2022-05-15T05:33:22Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > From wikipedia: בְּהֵמוֹת, _bəhēmōṯ_ . > > Assuming Google Translate gives the correct pronunciation, it’s bah-hah-MAWT. The vowel-pointing shown above suggests the pronunciation is b’haymot, the “hay” part rhyming with “may” or “stay” (but perhaps with a shorter vowel more like the e in “fed”), and the “mot” rhyming with goat. Note the contracted vowel following the initial b. ETA: That may be more modern Hebrew. In ancient Hebrew, it looks like it was b’haymos, same or similar vowels but s instead of t sound at the end. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/230 "2022-05-15T13:25:49Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > > [@Riemann](#): > > > > . . . known as the beatitudes. > > The attitudes of 1950s era Beatniks? > > (Pronounced Be-AT-niks?) Leo Mckern as Clang, attempting to buy Ringo’s ring from Paul and John: “Hey, Be-AT-le!” (At about 9:00 [here](https://archive.org/details/the-beatles-help-1965).) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2022, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/231 "2022-05-15T14:36:16Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > > [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > > > From wikipedia: בְּהֵמוֹת, _bəhēmōṯ_ . > > > > Assuming Google Translate gives the correct pronunciation, it’s bah-hah-MAWT. > > The vowel-pointing shown above suggests the pronunciation is b’haymot, > the “hay” part rhyming with “may” or “stay” (but perhaps with a shorter vowel more like the e in “fed”), and the “mot” rhyming with goat. Note the contracted vowel following the initial b. > > ETA: That may be more modern Hebrew. In ancient Hebrew, it looks like it was b’haymos, same or similar vowels but s instead of t sound at the end. It is reasonable to transcribe Hebrew ת as “th” (as in thread) or “t”, but not “s” [that is a different letter in Hebrew, ס], definitely not in classical Hebrew. The stress is on the final syllable, as one would expect. > [@Senegoid](#): > > a shorter vowel more like the e in “fed” The vowel is a (theoretically long) e, more closed than in “fed” if I am not mistaken ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/232 "2022-05-16T07:03:53Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > > [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > > > Outre. Supposedly pronounced “utter”. > > Thanks for pointing this out though. According to an on-line dictionary, it is supposed to be OO-TRA. Not “oo-TRAY”? The original word was spelt “outré”. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/233 "2022-05-16T09:55:23Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Not “oo-TRAY”? The original word was spelt “outré”. We’ve been through this. The “online dictionary” assumed A would be read as the NAME of the letter — “ay”’as in “day,” not as “ah” (as most people would read it). So, yes, the closest English equivalent to the French “é”’sound. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/234 "2022-05-16T13:30:40Z")
Yeah, and wiktionary gives the IPA which makes it clear (provided you can read IPA, but I’ll translate it for you): /uˈtɹeɪ/. The /eɪ/ there is what we call the “ay” or “long A” sound in English. In French, the sound is /e/, so it’s like the beginning half of the “ay” sound, before you diphthongize it. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/235 "2022-05-16T13:46:35Z")
Yep, the Anglicized pronunciation is /uˈtɹeɪ/. The French pronunciation is /u’tʀe/. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2022, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/236 "2022-05-16T23:17:17Z")
Thanks to you both. I was actually going to make a little IPA joke in my post (“Maybe we should use IPA — it’s more than just a beer”). ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/237 "2022-05-17T12:03:56Z")
I’ve only heard it pronounced (in various ways) on the Internet, and there’s apparently no consensus on what is correct. So what did I plant in the perennial border yesterday under the genus Agastache? Does the word end in stash-ee, stak-ee or stash? Or something else? \*I know, I could avoid the problem by referring to it as giant hyssop. But that’s a coward’s way out. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2022, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/238 "2022-05-17T12:06:33Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > Agastache “-STAHCK-ee” according to Wikipedia. ( /ˌæɡəˈstɑːkiː/) Wait, but Merriam-Webster has the accent on the second syllable, so something more like “uh-GAH-stuh-gee” /ə-ˈga-stə-kē/. [Forvo.com](http://Forvo.com) has one audio pronunciation, and theirs is like the Wikipedia one’s. [Pronunciations for agastache](https://forvo.com/search/agastache/) That’s from a British speaker, according to their map, though. So who knows if it is the same accent pattern as in US English. (See the difference between US and UK pronunciations of “oregano,” for instance.) I’ve never heard of this word until today, so no idea. ETA: Looking around more on the internet, this does seem to be a contentious question. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/239 "2022-05-18T03:44:50Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > In French, the sound is /e/, so it’s like the beginning half of the “ay” sound, before you diphthongize it So, you start to pronounce it and change your mind? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2022, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774/240 "2022-05-18T04:02:21Z")
And if you’ve never heard “synecdoche” pronounced (or if you’ve never even seen the word), don’t even think to try it. I saw this mentioned right here on the Dope a few weeks ago. Wow. The words you Dopers know! Per Wikipedia: /sɪˈnɛkdəki/ _sin-NEK-də-kee_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-you-ve-never-heard-pronounced/963774.md?page=13)