Sinusoid, Poly-

Question

Hi,some questions:#1 - how should I pronounce sinusoid? #2 - Is the prefix POLY- (as in polyester) usually pronounced pah-lee, and not pah-lih? If so, is polynomial an exception? --&gt; pah-lih-know-mee-uhl Thanks

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

#1 - how should I pronounce sinusoid?

Didn't m-w have it? Either "you" or "us"! SINE-you-soid, but people also say SINE-us-soid.

#2 - Is the prefix POLY- (as in polyester) usually pronounced pah-lee, and not pah-lih? If so, is polynomial an exception? --> pah-lih-know-mee-uhl

It seems to me it's always pah-lih unless it's before a vowel. (It works on more or less the same principle as the.)

CJ

Kooyeen · Answer

Yep, MW gives both, that's why I was undecided, LOL. Seriously, they give sine-yuh-soid, not sine-yoo-soid. I'll pick one at random then.

As for POLY- Hmm, I hadn't thought about that... Could be!

Thanks.

CalifJim · Answer

<<sine-yuh-soid>>
That's understandable. The tense u typically becomes lax in unstressed syllables.

CJ

Kooyeen · Answer

Yep, ok, thanks <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/>

Sinusoid, Poly-

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