The OL truth

For some reason, there  has suddenly  been a surge in interest in this blog. After about three months of limping along at about 4 visits per day, on 25 April that increased by a factor of more than 20 (not the average – that really would be extraordinary [the daily average has gone up by more than 1 though]) . I‘m not sure what to make of this. In its 100-odd days, visits have been:

• Jan 164
• Feb  94
• Mar  75
• Apr 176
• May too early to say, but it looks as if the fever has passed.

Be that as it may, here are the latest offerings from #WVGTbk2.

First draft of "ol" >  /əl/ notes

1. acrolect
   This word is on the Macmillan English Dictionary CD, with audio samples identified as British and American. But the entry in Macmillan English Dictionary online has a URL that specifies that it is "American". It is heard in the UK, but widely regarded as very informal.
2. cabriolet
   Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription, but the audio sample has the vowel sound /əʊ/.
3. dissolute
   Students of ESOL should note that the ss represents /s/, whereas in dissolve the same letters represent /z/.
4. electrolyte
   This is the sole representative of words (and neologisms) that use the prefix "electro-" with the pronunciation /ɪ‘lektrəʊ/ (as in, for example, "electroplating", which is a sort of plating. This does not include words that include the morpheme electr*, as in "electron" or "electrocute" (there is no such thing as a cute).
5. gasoline
   In American English, often abbreviated to "gas" – in, for example, "gas-station". This sort of "gas" is also used, in informal British English, in the figurative expression "to have gas" (of a sportsman who accelerates or runs quickly). Use with care, as in American English "to have gas" can have a very different meaning.
6. ideologue, idiolect, and idol
   ESOL students should note that the pronunciation of the first syllable depends on the root word or morpheme. For example, in ideologue, the root is idea and the pronunciation is /aɪ/. In idiolect the root is idio- (as in idiom and even – via a remote etymological link – idiot), so the pronunciation is /ɪ/. The same often applies to other related words, such as idol/idolatry (with the initial syllable having the vowel sound /aɪ/).
7. plimsoll
   Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription, but the audio sample has the vowel sound /ɒ/. Some speakers use an /əʊ/ vowel for the footwear, with the vowel /ə/ reserved for the nautical Plimsoll Line (which – the name of a nineteenth-century Member of Parliament – is historically the source of the footwear name).
8. polemic and polemical
   Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription, but the audio sample has a suggestion of /ɒ/.
9. travolator
   The Macmillan English Dictionary calls travelator "a British spelling of travolator". Strangely, the Macmillan English Dictionary Online says the same – but with a URL that identifies it as "American".

First draft of "Magic E" notes

Preamble

Note that many of these words are compounds formed with -hole, -pole, or whole-.

1. armhole
   This is the sole representative of the many compound nouns that use -hole as a suffix. with exceptions as noted separately.
2. bargepole
   The obvious meaning is as a compound formed from barge and pole, but such poles are presumably mostly in museums. The word escapes the general exclusion specified in note 8 because of its figurative use in the collocation "wouldn‘t touch <something> with a bargepole" (expressing extreme distaste).
3. beanpole
   Like bargepole the derivation of this is obvious: support for bean plants as they grow. But this word escapes the exclusion specified in note 8 because of its figurative use in reference to a person who is very thin.
4. cubbyhole
   This escapes the exclusion made in note 1, because cubby itself is not a free-standing word – except as a dialect word meaning "squat" and (since the late nineteenth century) as an abbreviation for cubbyhole:
   

   

   diagram from Collins English Dictionary

5. hellhole
   This escapes the exclusion made in note 8, because the hell- element is metaphorical – even for people who believe that Hell is real – in this compound.
6. keyhole
   This escapes the exclusion made in note 1, because of its recent use as an adjective in metaphors.
7. lughole
   This escapes the exclusion made in note 1, because lug- is not a free-standing word (although it‘s possible that there‘s a remote etymological link to the word lug ["ear"] – the ear being used in some cases for dragging someone unwillingly).
8. maypole
   This is the sole representative of compound words formed with the suffix -pole.
9. pigeonhole
   This escapes the exclusion made in note 1, because – although it clearly refers to a hole for a pigeon – it is more commonly used as a metaphor (sometimes as a simple physical container, but also as a verb referring to the imposition of arbitrary limits).
10. poleaxed
    Students of ESOL might rightly assume that this is the third part (or past participle) of the noun/verb poleaxe, but that tool (used typically to slaughter large animals [whence the collocation "like a poleaxed ox"]) is seen chiefly in museums today, and the verb – as an infinitive – has suffered a corresponding decline. This graph from Collins English Dictionary shows this decline:

    

    diagram from Collins English Dictionary

11. pothole
    This escapes the exclusion given in note 1, because the word is in no sense a hole for a pot.
12. wholegrain
    This is the sole representative of the many compound nouns that use whole- as a prefix. with exceptions as noted separately.
13. wholesale
    This escapes the exclusion given in note 12, because no part of the sale is whole.
14. wholesome
    This escapes the exclusion given in note 12, because the etymological link with healing (as in being made whole) is not immediately apparent.
15. wormhole
    This escapes the exclusion given in note 1 because, the Macmillan English Dictionary does not give its  more recently coined metaphorical meaning (in sci-fi and astrophysics). This usage has nothing to do with worms, and the hole is a metaphorical one.

Onward.

b
Update: 2016.05.04.21:50 – Fixed a very embarrassing coding error. Apologies if you tried vainly to make sense of the original.

What ESOL student can do without "oleagineity"?

This post contains notes pertaning to the next most common of the *OL* sounds.

First draft of "ol" >  /əʊl/ notes

1. acrolect
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription, but the audio sample has the vowel sound /ə/.
2. bankroll
   This is the sole representative of the many compound nouns formed by the addition of -roll. In this case adding another noun has produced a new verb too: to bankroll something is to make its development possible by making funds available.
3. below-the-fold
   link to el- ɪ note
4. boll
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription, but the audio sample has the vowel sound /ɒ/ (sharing the vowel sound with atoll, doll, folly, jolly, knoll, moll, poll, and toll[bridge|booth] (but not toll itself) . See also note 15.
5. ecolabel
   This is the sole representative of the many words (and neologisms) that use the prefix eco-.
6. folk (and its derivatives), holm-oak, and yolk
   These words could be in a section of their own, as they have no /l/ sound.
7. gasholder
   This is the sole representative of the many words that use hold to make a compound word when the string -hold has a clear containing sense. This does not apply to some -hold words – for example freehold.
8. gentlefolk
   This is the sole representative of the many compound nouns formed with -folk.
9. goldfinch
   As the gold in this compound is metaphorical it escapes the exclusion given in note 10.
10. goldmine
    This is the sole representative of compound words constructed with the prefix gold-.
11. mold (and its derivatives), molt, and smolder
    These words are American English variants of words that – by dint of the general exclusion of words with double vowels – are not included here.
12. monolingual
    The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription, but the audio sample has the vowel sound /ə/.
13. oleander 
    The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription, but the audio sample has the vowel sound /ɑ/.
14. polarity
    The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription, but the audio sample has the vowel sound /ə/.
15. poll
    This is unlike many other -oll words, which have the vowel sound /ɒ/. In the fairly uncommon usage that refers to a truncated part, some speakers always prefer /ɒ/.
16. profiterole
    Students of ESOL should note that neither of the es in this word is a Magic E. The first represents a new syllable (in a four-syllable word), leaving the second vowel as /ɪ/, and some speakers pronounce the second o with a sound more like the French [ɔ] or at least the British English /ɒ/.
17. prolapse
    The vowel sound in the prefix – unlike words such as collapse – is not normally reduced to /ə/.
18. proletarian
    As in the case of profiterole (see note 16) the e in this word is not a magic E; the word has five syllables.
19. small-holder and small-holding
    These two escape the exclusion given in note 7 because what is held is not (except comparatively) small, and in any case the object of comparison – a farm – is not expressed.
20. stronghold
    This escapes the exclusion given in note 7 because the object of the holding (typically a building) is not specified; what is held is a position of strength.
21. threefold
    This is the sole representative of compound words constructed with the suffix -fold.
22. tollgate
    This is the sole representative of compound words constructed with the prefix toll-.
23. townsfolk
    This escapes the exclusion made in note 8 because – unlike menfolk and youngfolk – the suffix -folk is not simply added to the defining noun/adjective.
24. troll
    Also heard with /ɒ/. Both pronunciations are both common and acceptable.
25. wholly
    Compare sole/solely (both in the Magic E section).

OL factory

This post contains the first of the *OL* sounds, of which there are many more than for *IL*  –  8 or 9 (depending on  whether you give chocolate 2 syllables or 3; in fact the advertiser‘s chocolatey definitely has 3 syllables and not 4.)

First draft of "ol" >  /ɒl/ notes

1. alcoholism
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription. but the audio sample has the vowel sound /ə/.
2. bankroll [Must check this –  should be /əʊ]
   This is the sole representative of the many compound nouns formed by the addition of -roll. In this case adding another noun has produced a new verb too: to bankroll something (usually a project of some kind) is to make it possible by making funds available.
3. bollocking
   The Macmillan English Dictionary also gives bollock as a verb. It is rarely used, except in this -ing form. The British National Corpus records 15 instances of the word, with 12 having the meaning harsh criticism. There are also 15 instances of bollock, but only two of these are verbs, and only one of those has the relevant meaning; the other must be a regional usage – with the apparent meaning grumble.
4. choleric
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives two American pronunciations, one with stress on the second syllable. In this case the first vowel-sound is /ə/. The same dictionary gives only one pronunciation, marked British. But the version with stress on the second syllable is common in the UK and widely accepted.
5. colitis
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription. but the audio sample has the vowel sound /ə/.
6. Collect
   This is the noun (which is not in Macmillan English Dictionary; the link is to the Collins English Dictionary). The verb – and, in American English, adverb (in the collocation "call collect") – is in the *OL* > /ə/ section.
7. colleen
   This borrowing from Irish Gaelic is transcribed with this vowel, although its stress – in regular British English – would normally suggest a /ə/ in the first syllable. And the audio sample on the CD-ROM follows this suggestion.
8. colloquy
   The Macmillan English Dictionary does not include this word, but several other dictionaries do. The link is to the Collins English Dictionary.
9. consolatory
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription. but the audio sample has a very slight (almost non-existent) /ə/, as primary stress is placed on the first syllable (also unlike the transcription). The pronunciation with /ə/ in the first syllable and primary stress on the second is common but is on the decline. As is often the case when a pronunciation is dying out, many of its users regard it as in some sense correct (following the "argument" often heard in language circles that what used to be customary is necessarily the only option).
10. décolleté
    The Macmillan English Dictionary transcribes this with only three syllables, but the audio sample has a clear /ə/ after the /l/. Both pronunciations are both acceptable and common.
11. dissolve
    Students of English for Speakers of Other Languages should note that the written letters "ss" represent /z/, whereas in dissolute (see the /ə/ section) the same letters represent /s/.
12. molecule
    Students of English for Speakers of Other Languages should note that there is no Magic E affecting the first syllable, and that this word has three syllables – /‘mɑlɪkju:l/.
13. pink-collar
    Note that this is not in any way an opposite of blue-collar, except in the sense that a blue-collar worker has tended, historically, to be male.
14. polka 
    The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription (and a corresponding audio example), but for the collocation "polka dot" (which has no separate transcription), the audio sample has a suggestion of the vowel-sound /əʊ/. Both pronunciations are acceptable.
15. polyandry
    This is the sole representative of the many compound words (and neologisms) that use the prefix poly-.
16. resolve
    Macmillan English Dictionary gives one transcription and a corresponding audio sample, with the stressed syllable /zɒlv/, and to make a firm decision as the primary meaning. Other dictionaries differ; Collins English Dictionary, for example, gives to solve a problem as the primary meaning, with to make a firm decision as the sixth of fourteen verbal meanings. Although both these dictionaries use the same /z/ pronunciation, some speakers use /z/ for making a decision and /s/ (with /ri:/ in the first syllable) for to solve again. In the expressions resolve an equation and resolve a dispute/problem/disagreement..., the /z/ pronunciation is correct.
17. troll
    Also heard with /əʊ/. Both pronunciations are common and acceptable.
18. vol-au-vent
    Note that the second syllable is just /ə/.
19. volte-face
    This is unlike the (unrelated) word volt (derived from the Italian name Volta – see the /əʊ/ section). It is interesting, and no doubt confusing for students of English for Speakers of Other Languages, that the word with no final E has the sound /əʊ/, while the one with final E has the sound /ɒ/.

ill-met

This post contains the rest of the *IL* sounds; there are only four altogether – these three and the third of last month's tranche.

First draft of "il" >  /aɪl/ notes

1. childhood and godchild
   These two are each (one as a prefix and one as a suffix) representative of the many compound words that use the affix "child".
2. facile and facileness
   Note that the American pronunciation of the adjective, ending /əl/, is increasingly to be heard in the UK. The derived noun is facileness (which does not, in British English, mean the same as facility). The link is to the Collins English Dictionary.
3. mileometer
   This is the sole representative of the compound words that start mile-.
4. resile
   The Macmillan English Dictionary does not include this word, but other dictionaries – for example, the Collins English Dictionary – do.
5. wildcat
   This escapes the general exclusion given in note 7 because the word wildcat (in collocations uch as wildcat strike) does not have the common (animal) sense – or does, but only in a figurative sense (of something hard to control).
6. wildfire
   This escapes the general exclusion given in note 7 because the fire is wild only in the figurative sense that early hominids tamed it.
7. wildfowl
   This is the sole representative of the many compound words that have wild- prrepended. Individual notes explain the exceptions.
8. wild-goose chase
   When Shakespeare put this expression in the mouth of Mercutio (in the first recorded use), he was probably referring to a certain kind of horse-race, with a leading horse being followed by other riders in the V-shape typical of migrating geese. When used today, it refers more directly (although figuratively) to the notion of chasing after wild geese. (It seems to me that this change in meaning may have been influenced, in days when Latin was more widely studied, by an awareness of the fact that a mission to find the solution to a question that has no anser [=Latin, "goose"] was vain; but there is no documentary proof of this – which, I admit, smacks of folk-etymology.)

First draft of "il" >  /əl/ notes

1. annihilate
Note that the second syllable has the /aɪ/ vowel and the h is silent.


2. bedevil[l]ed
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives only the American spelling (with a single l), but several other dictionaries do –  for example, the Collins English Dictionary.
3. cartilage
   Sic in The Macmillan English Dictionary but the same dictionary gives "cartilaginous" with an /ɪ/. Either vowel is both acceptable and common.
4. family, peril, perilous, perilously, privilege, privileged, sacrilege, sacrilegious, scurrilous, stepfamily (etc), syphilis, weevil
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this pronunciation but some dictionaries – for example, Collins English Dictionary – give /ɪ/. Either vowel is both acceptable and common.
5. pastille
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this pronunciation, but other dictionaries give /ɪ/. One of these, Collins English Dictionary, reserves this pronunciation for the word pastel. A pronunciation with the vowel /i:/ in the second syllable is also acceptable; in this case the stress is sometimes on the second syllable.
6. pencil, probabilistic, simile
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription, but the audio sample has a hint of /ɪ/ – a pronunciation that is widely used.
7. penciled, penciling
   The Macmillan English Dictionary does not give a version with a double l, but many dictionaries – for example, Collins English Dictionary – do.
8. pupil and utensil
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this pronunciation but some speakers use /ɪ/. Either vowel is both acceptable and common.
9. Savile Row
   Note the pronunciation; /ɪ/ (not /aɪ/, as a student of ESOL might expect) is also common. The pronunciation with /ə/ matches the American English pronunciation of some other "-ile" words, such as "hostile" and "missile".
10. similarity, similarly
    The Macmillan English Dictionary has this, but similar is transcribed with /ɪ/ (though, as the note to that word suggests, either pronunciation is acceptable; in fact, in an unstressed syllable, there is scarcely any difference. The Macmillan English Dictionary suggests that the pronunciation with /ɪ/ is American, though it is common also in the UK.
11. tonsil
    The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this pronunciation but some speakers use /ɪ/ – especially in a context that includes words such as tonsillectomy or tonsillitis (which the same dictionary transcribes with an /ɪ/). Either vowel is both acceptable and common.
12. underprivileged
    This is the sole representative of the many words that use under- as a prefix.

First draft of "il" >  /i:l/ notes

1. automobile
   This is the sole representative of compound words formed with -mobile as a suffix. ESOL students should note that this -mobile does not have the /ɑɪ/ vowel used in the word mobile. (The stress is also different.)
2. chenille and déshabillé
   The double l, as in some French and most Spanish borrowings, represents a /j/. Unlike some French borrowings (typically, but not always, ending -lle , the pronunciation is sometimes partly Anglicized with /i:l/ phonemes (rather than /i:j/ , which is also sometimes heard [with no trace of an /l/ sound] ). In other cases (Cadillac, espadrille, fusillade, grille, pastille, Nashville, quadrille, and vaudeville), the Anglicization has gone further and the sound is /ɪl/ or /əl/.
   
   In Spanish borrowings (typically ending -lla or -llo), the pronunciation is often fully Anglicized with /ɪl/ phonemes (rather than /i:j/). An example of this, not in the Macmillan English Dictionary but in several others (such as the Collins English Dictionary) is cigarillo. See, for contrast, tortilla.


3. filo pastry
   The Macmillan English Dictionary transcribes this with the /i:/ vowel, but the audio sample is /ɪ/. A fully Anglicized pronunciation with the /ɑɪ/ phoneme is also common. As often with foreign borrowings, the pronunciation is very variable.
4. kilo
   The freestanding word (a noun) has the vowel sound /i:/, but see also the /ɪ/ section for the adjectival prefix (kilo-).

ill-temperament

Last week I skipped the usual tranche, as an idea in connection with  my other blog monpolized my attention – some would put it more strongly.

First draft of "il" >  /ɪl/ notes

1. ability
   This is the sole representative of more than 100 words that use the suffix -ability or -ibility.
2. affiliate
   This is the verb. The last syllable in other uses is /ə/.
3. anthill
   Students of ESOL should note that the letters "th" do not represent a /θ/ sound. Each syllable is pronounced as though it were a separate word.
4. bodily
   This can be an adverb, but it is more commonly used as an adjective – as in "bodily harm" or "bodily fluids". The British National Corpus has nine times as many instances of its use as an adjective. But, considered as an adverb, it would escape the general exclusion of -ily adverbs formed from an adjective ending in y for the obvious reason that body is a noun.
5. Cadillac, espadrille, fusillade, grille, and vaudeville
Note that, unlike some other words, such as chenille, this word has been fully Anglicized – the sound is /ɪl/.

6. centilitre
   This is the sole representative of the many words that use the prefix "centi-"
7. dilemma
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this pronunciation, but the /aɪ/ diphthong is also common. Macmillan English Dictionary identifies the /aɪ/ pronunciation as American, but it is common also in the UK. The Cambridge Dictionary, for example, gives the /aɪ/ pronunciation (and does not even mention /ɪ/). Both are acceptable, although there are people who insist that the word does not just mean "a sticky situation" but must refer to a choice between two options – so they feel it necessary to emphasize this by using the /aɪ/ pronunciation.
8. downhill
   This is the sole representative of the many compound words that use hill as either a prefix (as in for example hilltop) or a suffix (as here). Individual notes explain the exceptions.
9. fritillary
   This word is not in the Macmillan English Dictionary, being quite rare (as is the flower/butterfly it represents). The link is to Collins.
10. fossilize, fossilized
    The Macmillan English Dictionary does not give the -ise spelling. The link is to Collins.
11. guerrilla
    A spelling with a single r is considered acceptable by some speakers.
12. hillbilly
    This escapes the general exclusion noted in note 8 because the sense of hill, though it forms part of the word‘s etymological story, is not present in the current meaning of the word.
13. hillock
    This escapes the general exclusion noted in note 8 because ock does not in itself mean anything – not now, that is. It is derived from the Middle English diminutive suffix -oc. This is the sole representative of the many compounds formed from ill- and an adjective. Macmillan English Dictionary lists 17, but the prefix is still, as linguists say productive – so many more will occur.
14. ill-advised, ill feeling
    When there is no hyphen, and "ill" is a freestanding adjective, it usually has the meaning "unfriendly" or "unwelcome" or even "hostile".
15. immobilizer
    The Macmillan English Dictionary does not give a version spelt ‘-iser‘, but several dictionaries do. The link is to Collins. (On the other hand, the spellchecker on my android tablet does not recognize the ‘-zer‘ spelling – presumably because of the almost pathological loathing shared by many UK software engineers of all ‘-ize‘ spellings).
16. instil
    The Macmillan English Dictionary, which often gives American variants, does not give a version with the spelling instill, but in the online version the word instill appears with a URL that identifies it as American.
17. killjoy
    This is the sole representative of the many compound words that use kill as either a prefix (as here for example) or as a suffix (as in, for example, roadkill. Individual notes explain the exceptions.
18. kilobit
    This is the sole representative of the many words that use kilo- as a prefix. Individual notes explain the exceptions. Note that the noun has the /i:/ sound. The prefix kilo- has given rise to the colloquial abbreviation k (especially in reference to amounts of money).
19. matrilineal
    The Macmillan English Dictionary gives the (unlengthened) /i/ vowel, not widely used in British English, but the audio clip has /ɪ/.
20. militarized
    The Macmillan English Dictionary does not give a version with the spelling  -ised; the link is to the one dictionary that does – Dictionarist. (On the other hand, the spellchecker on my android tablet does not recognize the ‘-zed‘ spelling.
21. milkman
    This is the sole representative of the compound words that either start milk- or end -milk.
22. millepede
    This escapes the general exclusion given in note 23, as the remaining letters, after the prefix is removed, do not make a freestanding word: there are, for example, measurements such as bar or gram. Besides, the prefix is inappropriate, as these insects typically have many fewer than a thousand legs.
23. millibar
    This is the sole representative of the compound words that start milli-.
24. millstone
    This is the sole representative of the compound words that either start mill- or end -mill.
25. multilateral
    This is the sole representative of the compound words that start multi-. Macmillan English Dictionary gives the (unlengthened) /i/ vowel, not widely used in British English, but the audio clip has /ɪ/. (See also note 27).
26. nihilism
    Note that the Macmillan English Dictionary transcription and audio sample have no /h/, but that pronunciation is not uncommon. For example, listen to the British English pronunciation at Cambridge Dictionaries Online.
27. patrilineal and rectilinear
The Macmillan English Dictionary gives the (unlengthened) pronunciation /i/, as it does for matrilineal. This is possibly a mistake (although some prefixes ending in i- [for example multilateral but not quadrilateral] are given this pronunciation).

28. pillbox
    This escapes the exclusion noted in note 29 [HD: ??? I‘ll have to sort this out – but not now] because – in many of the uses of pillbox (for example, coastal defences and millinery) – the sense of pill is remote, though presumably there is (long ago in the etymological past) a figurative reference to a container for pills.
29. pillowcase
    This is the sole representative of compound nouns prefixed with pillow-, except where noted otherwise for reasons given.
30. sawmill
    This is the sole representative of compound words that use -mill as a suffix (with exceptions as noted).
31. scintillating, similar, and vigil
    The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription but the audio sample has more than a hint of /ə/.
32. silverfish
    This escapes the general exclusion in note 33 because a silverfish is neither silver nor silvern.
33. silversmith
    This is the sole representative of compound words that use silver- as a prefix. In some phrases, "silver" forms what is effectively a compound word, although there is no hyphen; these usually refer to colour or have a figurative sense only distantly connected to the metal – for example, "silver birch" or "silver anniversary"
34. sterilizer
    Oddly, the Macmillan English Dictionary does not include this word, though it does include, for example, stabil[s|z]er. The link here is to Collins.
35. tonsillitis
    Note that the Macmillan English Dictionary does not give the variant spelling with a single l, though several other dictionaries – for example, Collins – do.
36. umbilical and umbilicus
    Note that although the Macmillan English Dictionary gives "umbilicus", and does not give the much more common umbilical, many other dictionaries do list the more common word. The Corpus of Contemporary American records nearly 10 times as many cases of the adjective (almost always occurring in the phrase umbilical cord) as it does of the noun (used almost exclusively by medical professionals). The British National Corpus shows a greater preponderance: the adjective occurs nearly 17 times as frequently as the noun.
37. unilateral
    This is the sole representative of the many words that use uni- as a prefix.
38. upskilling
    The Macmillan English Dictionary does not list upskill as a bare infinitive, though a few (for example, Collins) do.
39. vigilance, vigilant, and vigilante
    In spite of the Macmillan English Dictionary‘s /ə/ for many -il- words, these three have /ɪ/ in both the transcription and the audio sample (and see, in contrast, note 31). As with many other such words, either pronunciation is both common and acceptable.
40. weedkiller
    This is the sole representative of the many compound nouns formed with the ending -killer.
41. wildebeest
    The Macmillan English Dictionary transcribes this with the initial /v/ and second vowel /ə/, faithful to the word‘s Afrikaans origins. But not all usages follow this; for example, Collins gives a transcription with /w/ and /ɪ/ respectively. However,  Macmillan English Dictionary doesn't have all the etymological high ground: the audio sample has the initial consonant /w/.

No country for old rope

The last three of the "el" sounds:

First draft of "el" > "Magic E" notes

1. facelift
   This escapes the general exclusion of "face" and "lift" compounds, because although a facelift does involve tightening of facial elements, the face as a whole is not simply lifted.
2. firelight
   This is the one representative of the many compounds formed with "fire".
3. firelit
   The Macmillan English Dictionary does not include this word. Not many dictionaries do (Onelook finds only four). This link is to the Collins English Dictionary.
4. livelong
   This is a magic E in that the e does not affect the  E of the i (in the same way as it does not affect the i in the /ɪ/ pronunciation of live).
5. omelette
   This does not have a magic E in the traditional sense (where an English word ending in e has an ending [often a suffix], so that the resultant el has no sound represented by the e). But as no other English word of this kind has a silent e – apart from words with a magic E (borrowed suffix and all, with no such word as "*ome") – omelette is included here to avoid creating a separate one-word category.

First draft of "el" > /i:l/  notes

1. delectation
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription, but the audio sample has the /e/ phoneme.
2. prelapsarian
   The Macmillan English Dictionary does not include this word, which escapes the general exclusion of words that use the "pre-" prefix because of the opacity of its derivation - Onelook finds only two dictionaries that include "lapsarian" – Wiktionary and Wikipedia. But many other dictionaries do
include "prelapsarian". The link is to Collins English Dictionary.

3. preliterate
   This is the sole representative of words formed with the prefix "pre-", with an exception covered in the previous note.
4. relaxation
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription, but the audio sample has the /ɪ/ phoneme.

First draft of "el" > /eɪl/  notes

1. elan
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription, but the audio sample has the /e/ phoneme. There are other possible and acceptable versions, as is common with foreign borrowings.
2. melange
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription, but the audio sample has the /e/ phoneme (presumably the speaker knows some French, and did not follow the transcription – preferring the purer French vowel).

‘Figurative lag‘ "below-the-fold"

Here are the notes for two el-sounds: first /ə/ and then /ɪ/.

First draft of "el" > /əl/  notes

1. alleluia
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription but the audio sample has an /e/ vowel.
2. babel
   The Macmillan English Dictionary does not give this its initial capital, which some speakers associate with the pronunciation that has /eɪ/ in the first syllable.
3. becquerel
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription, but many people use /e/ – especially if they did French at school.
4. belligerent
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription but the audio sample has an /ɪ/ vowel. Both are both common and acceptable.
5. by-election
   On the Macmillan English Dictionary CD-ROM, although the speaker of both this and election is the same, the second vowel is different (although there is no transcription). It sounds closer to /ə/. It is probable that after the /aɪ/ there is dissimilation to avoid the triphthong (although this /aɪɪ/ is not uncommon – in words such as weighing).
6. celeb, celebrity, celerity, celestial, correlate, crenel(l)ated, derelict, and dereliction
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this, but the pronunciation /ɪ/ is common (it is given, for example, in the Collins English Dictionary.)
7. deluxe
   The Macmillan English Dictionary has this transcription but the audio sample has the /ɪ/ vowel – a common alternative.
8. fuselage
   The e seems like a magic E, as it makes the u into /ju:/ rather than /ʌ/ (as in pairs like fuss/fuse or muss/muse), but the word has three syllables.
9. gravel(l)ed and gruel(l)ing
   The Macmillan English Dictionary does not include a version with a single l on the CD-ROM, but does in the online version.
10. grovel(l)ing and snivel(l)ing
    The Macmillan English Dictionary does not include a version with a single l, although many other dictionaries (for example, the Collins English Dictionary) do.
11. haveli
    The Macmillan English Dictionary puts primary stress on the last syllable, but the speaker in the audio clip does not. This is not a commonly used word in the UK, and the speaker is probably meeting it for the first time.
12. jewel[l]ery
    Also spelt (as it is pronounced – that is, with 3 syllables) "jewelry". In British English this spelling is optional. In American English the shorter version is standard; it outnumbers jewellery nearly 100:1 in the Corpus of Contemporary American (7,650:79). There is a slightly greater preponderance (this time for jewellery over jewelry) in the British National Corpus (1,216:11). .
13. labeled and labeling
    The Macmillan English Dictionary does not list a version with two ls although many other dictionaries (for example the Collins English Dictionary) do.
14. leveled and leveling
    The Macmillan English Dictionary does not include a version with two ls, though it does include "leveller" (not more level, but something that redresses an imbalance, or a participant in a particular politico-historical movement, The Levellers.
15. minstrelsy
    The Macmillan English Dictionary does not include this word, but many others (for example, the Collins English Dictionary) do.
16. Noel
    This name is a homograph of a word in the /e/ section.
17. quarreled, quarreling, shoveled, shoveling, shriveled, shriveling, snorkeled, snorkeling, swiveled, tunneled, tunneling, unraveled, and unraveling.
    The Macmillan English Dictionary does not include a version with a single l on the CD-ROM, but does in the online version.
18. rebel
    This word when stressed on the first syllable (with a /ə/ in the second) when it is a noun. When it is a verb it takes stress on the second syllable.
19. shellac
    The Macmillan English Dictionary gives both this and /e/ as alternative pronunciations for the noun and does not give the verb. Other dictionaries (for example the Collins English Dictionary) give both. Some speakers distinguish between the verb with /ə/ – and stress on the second syllable – and the noun with /e/ (matching a similar distinction between the noun produce – with an   lagopen vowel in the first syllable – and the verb produce – with /ə/).
20. untramelled
    The Macmillan English Dictionary does not give the spelling with a single l in the CD-ROM version, but in the online version it gives untrameled – with a URL that identifies it as an American usage.

First draft of "el" > /ɪl/  notes

1. below-the-fold
   It is ironic (but a sign of the way metaphors continue to be used long after the underlying technology has moved on) that the Macmillan English Dictionary defines this as "the part of an Internet document that you cannot see without moving the page downwards". In that context, "page" is another. Other examples of this figurative lag are "a flash in the pan" (reference to an obsolete firearm mechanism) and "hang up" (reference to an obsolete telephone design). In this case the reference is to a folded newspaper.
2. deselect
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription, but the audio sample has an /ə/. Both vowels are used.
3. elaborate
   In the CD-ROM containing the New Edition of the Macmillan English Dictionary (Version 2.3.0711), although the verb and the adjective have distinct transcriptions (with respect to the last syllable), they both have the same audio; the verb is correct but the adjective is incorrectly given the /eɪt/ ending. This is correct in the online version, so may have been corrected in a later release of the software version
4. elicit
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this (both transcription and audio), but often speakers avoid the punning "illicit" by giving "elicit" an /e/.
5. felonious
   The Macmillan English Dictionary does not include this, but many other dictionaries (for example Collins) do.
6. hallelujah
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription, but the audio sample has /eɪ/. Both pronunciations are both common and acceptable.
7. pellucid
   The Macmillan English Dictionary gives this transcription, but the audio sample has something approaching /ə/. Both pronunciations are both common and acceptable.
8. preliminary
   The Macmillan English Dictionary transcribes this with an /i/ (for both the adjective and the noun). This is obviously a mistake.
9. select, selection, selective, and selector
   These four are all transcribed in the Macmillan English Dictionary with the /ɪ/ vowel, but the audio for the first three has the vowel /ə/, with only "selector" having an audio clip matching the transcription. Both vowels are both common and acceptable.