English words spelled

English Words Spelled with 3-letter /Ä «/ English Words Spelled with 3-letter /Ä «/ English Words Spelled with 3-letter /Ä «/ By Maeve Maddox Among several ways to spell the long i sound in English is the 3-letter combination -igh- as in sight [sÄ «t]. The spelling reflects an earlier pronunciation in which the gh represented a sound made with the soft palate, rather like the ch heard in German ich. The -igh- spelling has persisted in English because it occurs in a small group of high frequency one-syllable words. Its easy to tolerate an apparently difficult spelling when one sees it frequently. Most of the -igh- words end with the /t/ sound and spelling. Exceptions are high, nigh, and sigh, in which igh represents the final sound. The other most common -igh- words are: bright from O.E. beorht, byrht fight from O.E. feohtan flight from O.E. flyht knight from OE cniht, cneoht light from O.E. leï ¿ ¼oht might from O.E. meahte, mihte night from O.E. niht right from O.E. riht sight from O.E. sihth The word delight has come to be grouped with the -igh- words because of association with the word light. Etymologically speaking, delight belongs with sprite and spite. All three words come from the French. delight from Old French delit, deleit, from delitier, deleitier sprite from Old French esprit spite shortened from despite which comes from Old French despit In the 16th century, sprite was often spelled spright and spite was spelled spight. Since then, theyve reverted to spellngs closer to their origins, probably because they are not in such frequent use as delight. In case you havent come across the word sprite as anything but a brand name, Ill define it: A sprite is an other-worldly creature, like an elf or a fairy. The word derives from the same source as spirit, but spirit has a more serious connotation than sprite. A sprite plays tricks. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to use "on" and when to use "in"The Possessive ApostropheEspecially vs. Specially