Monosyllable

{{Short description|Verse in which each line contains only one syllable}}

In linguistics, a monosyllable is a word or utterance of only one syllable.{{cite dictionary |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monosyllable |title=monosyllable |access-date=19 July 2019 |dictionary=Merriam-Webster Dictionary |publisher=Merriam-Webster}} It is most commonly studied in the fields of phonology and morphology.{{cite web |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-a-monosyllable-1691325 |title=What is a Monosyllable? |first=Richard |last=Nordquist |date=3 July 2019 |access-date=19 July 2019 |work=ThoughtCo.}} The word has originated from the Greek language.{{cite journal |jstor=287243 |title=The Origin of the Recessive Accent in Greek |first=Maurice |last=Bloomfield |author-link=Maurice Bloomfield |journal=The American Journal of Philology |volume=9 |issue=1 |year=1888 |pages=1–41 |publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press |doi=10.2307/287243 |url=https://archive.org/details/originrecessive00bloogoog/page/n5|hdl=2027/uc2.ark:/13960/t21c1w96h |hdl-access=free }}

"Yes", "no", "jump", "buy", "heat", "sure", "cough", and "and" are examples of monosyllables.{{cite dictionary |url=https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/monosyllable |title=monosyllable |access-date=19 July 2019 |dictionary=Macmillan Dictionary |publisher=Springer Nature Limited}}{{cite dictionary |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/monosyllable |title=monosyllable |access-date=19 July 2019 |dictionary=Cambridge Dictionary |publisher=Cambridge University Press}} Some of the longest monosyllabic words in the English language, all containing nine letters each, are "screeched," "schlepped," "scratched," "scrounged," "scrunched," "stretched," "straights," and "strengths".{{Cite web |url=https://www.lexico.com/explore/what-is-the-longest-one-syllable-english-word|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407050447/https://www.lexico.com/explore/what-is-the-longest-one-syllable-english-word|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 7, 2020|title=What is the longest one-syllable English word?}}