Why is cough spelled the way it is?

Cough, pronounced coff, is onomatopoeic in origin, from the sound of the closure of the glottis plus the sound of air whizzing or wheezing through the trachea. The Latin word was tussis, with its own form of onomatopoeia, giving modern words like toux (French), tosse (Italian and Portuguese), and toz (Spanish).

Why do the words thought though and cough contain the letters GH ‘?

Early scribes had to adapt the Roman alphabet to English, and since Latin didn’t have the /x/ sound, they used “h” or a non-Roman character called a yogh (ȝ). Eventually, during the Middle English period, they settled on “gh.”

What is the rule for ough words?

So, let’s review what we have learned about how to pronounce -ough in English: The first way is like “oh” in the words: dough, though, although, and thorough. The second way is like “ooh” in the words: through, and throughout. The third way is like “off” in the words: cough, and trough.

Why is tough spelled tough?

Tough and tuff are two words that are pronounced the same way but have different spellings and very different meanings. They are homophones. The word tough is also used to describe food that is difficult to chew. The word tough is derived from the Old English word toh which means strong, firm-textured, tenacious.

Why are some words Spelt the same but pronounced differently?

When words are spelled the same and sound the same but have different meanings, then they are called homonyms. When they are just spelled the same but sound different and have different meanings, then they are homographs. Here are some of the most popular homonyms and homographs in the English language.

How many ways are there to pronounce ough?

9 different ways
The letters ‘ough’ can be pronounced 9 different ways in English. ‘ough’ can be pronounced as [ʌf] in rough, /aʊ/ in plough/u:/ in through, /oʊ/ in though, /ɔː/ in thought, /ə/ – in thorough /ˈθʌr. ə/, /ɒf/ in cough, /ʌp/ in hiccough and /ɒk/ in lough.

What are some ew words?

Here are some words that contain ‘ew’ that you can use when teaching your child phonics:

• Flew.
• Brew.
• Chew.
• New.
• Crew.
• Drew.
• Knew.
• Grew.

Is tough spelled correctly?

If the word you are using is an adjective or a verb, use tough. For all other contexts, though, tough is the correct spelling of this word. Tough is a tough word to spell, so by remembering the meaning of the word, you can also remember its unusual spelling.

Why is there a silent h in ghost?

Conversation. The ‘h’ in ‘ghost’ is a historical hiccup. William Caxton, having first practised his trade in Flanders, brought Flemish typesetters back to England to help set up his printing press – they lobbed an ‘h’ into English ‘gost’ because their own native word was ‘gheest’.

Why are some words spelled with the letter Ough?

This seems to be the case for the following two words spelled with “ough”: hiccough: the word is not actually derived from cough. But people started spelling it with -ough because they thought it seemed similar to cough.

How do you pronounce coughs?

Anyone who’s ever been sick is well acquainted with our next word: cough. Recorded in Middle English as coghen , cough refers to ” (the act of) expelling air suddenly and noisily from your lungs.” The word is pronounced like [cof] or [kawf] depending on your accent, with the – ough rhyming with the word off.

Why is the word ‘hiccough’ pronounced ‘Hiccup’ instead of cough?

hiccough: the word is not actually derived from cough. But people started spelling it with -ough because they thought it seemed similar to cough. The more regular spelling with “up” is still commonly used. furlough, which comes from Dutch verlof; I have no idea why it changed pronunciation and spelling.

What is the origin of the word ‘rouGH’?

Rough [ruhf] rhymes with huff, with the – ough making the same sound as – uff. The word is derived from the Old English rūh, which could mean “hairy, coarse, untrimmed.” It’s been in common use among English speakers for over 1,000 years, and, roughly speaking, many of its original senses are still used today.