| After q
quack quell quench quest quick quid quiff quill quilt quin quip quit quitch quoll squelch squib squid squint squish |
aqua aquarium Aquarius aqueduct banquet bequeath bequest colloquial conquistador consequence cumquat/kumquat delinquent earthquake eloquent enquire equator equine equipment equity frequent harlequin jonquil quadrant quadrella quaff quagmire quail Quaker qualify quality quantity quantum quarantine quark quarrel quarry quarter quartet quartz quash quintet quisling queen queer question quibble quiescent quiet quince quinella quinine quirk quite quiver quota quote sequel soliloquy squad square squirrel tranquil |
After g
anguish bilingual distinguish extinguish guacamole Guadalcanal Guam guanaco guano Guatemala guava Guinevere iguana language languish linguini linguistics Paraguay sanguine segue unguent Uruguay penguin |
Other
assuage Buenos Aires chihuahua cuisine dissuade Ecuador Eduard ennui ensuite Kuala Lumpur Lee Kuan Yew Sichuan suave suite Tierra del Fuego Tuileries tuyere Venezuela |
4 responses to “u as in quack (usually in initial adjacent consonants gu or qu)”
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Hi Alison I’m trying to find out why the u is in persuade. Is it a word origin thing?
I think it is a word origin thing, yes, the online etymology dictionary says it’s from French: 1510s, from Middle French persuader (14c.), from Latin persuadere “to bring over by talking,” (see persuasion). Related: Persuaded; persuading. There are other words from French like this, with U for a /w/ sound e.g. cuisine, suede. But also the letter W is a lateish addition to our alphabet, and was previously sometimes written UU (hence the name double-U), and the two sounds are almost identical, it’s just that we use a /w/ in a consonant slot in our syllables, and a /u/ is typically in a vowel slot.
Hey guys, don’t say no if I’m wrong but Isn’t the word consequence there?
Please if that word is up there please don’t say I’m blind or bad things to me…
Cencily, Tilliwa
I’m trying not to say anyone is blind or say bad things about people, and wonder whether ‘cencily’ is your spelling of ‘sincerely’? Yes, consequence is on this list.