3 syllables: long, fell, ow. Stress on long.
LAWNG-fel-oh
/ˈlɔˌŋfɛloʊ/
longfellow is pronounced LAWNG-fel-oh (/ˈlɔˌŋfɛloʊ/). It has three syllables (long-fell-ow), with the stress on "long". A proper noun, most famously a surname (as in the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow). It functions as a single compound name; phonologically it is pronounced as two morphemes: LONG + FEL-low, with primary stress on the first syllable. The overall pronunciation is /ˈlɔːŋˌfoʊloʊ/ in US English, with slight vowel lengthening and an unstressed second element.
A proper noun, most famously a surname (as in the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow). It functions as a single compound name; phonologically it is pronounced as two morphemes: LONG + FEL-low, with primary stress on the first syllable. The overall pronunciation is /ˈlɔːŋˌfoʊloʊ/ in US English, with slight vowel lengthening and an unstressed second element.
"The class studied Longfellow's use of imagery in his poetry."
"She quoted a line from Longfellow during the literary presentation."
"We traced the surname Longfellow to its English origins in the 17th century."
Pronounce as two syllables with primary stress on the first: Long + fellow. IPA US: /ˈlɔŋˌfoʊloʊ/. Start with an open back rounded vowel at /ɔ/ as in 'thought', hold the vowel a touch longer than a typical short vowel, then release to /ŋ/; next syllable has /foʊ/ with a strong /oʊ/ diphthong, followed by /loʊ/. The overall rhythm is trochaic-tilting, with a secondary stress pattern on the second syllable clear but subsidiary to the first.
Common errors include reducing /ɔː/ to a lax /ɑ/ in the first syllable and flattening /foʊ/ to /fo/ without the /ʊ/ or vowel length difference. Another frequent issue is blurring the second syllable into a quick /ləʊ/ or misplacing the stress, resulting in 'LONG-fel-low' or 'long-FEL-low'. Correction: emphasize the first syllable with /ɔ/ quality and length, then deliver the second syllable as /foʊ/ followed by a full /loʊ/ with clear /oʊ/ diphthongs.
US tends to use /ˈlɔŋˌfoʊloʊ/ with a clear rhotic 'r' only when in connected speech; UK typically renders /ˈlɒŋˌfəʊləʊ/ with shorter /ɒ/ in the first syllable and a longer, rounded /əʊ/ in the second; Australian keeps a similar pattern to UK but with Australian vowel shifts: /ˈlɒŋˌfəːləʊ/ where /əː/ or /ɜː/ may occur in the second syllable depending on speaker. In all, the most stable feature is the initial stressed syllable /lɔŋ/ or /lɒŋ/ and the /foʊloʊ/ ending; rhoticity mainly affects linking and connecting sounds, not the core vowels.
The difficulty lies in accurately producing the American /ɔ/ (or British /ɒ/) vowel in the first syllable and the diphthong /oʊ/ in both the second and final syllables, which require careful lip rounding and jaw positioning. People also tend to merge the second syllable with the first, weakening the secondary stress, or misplace the primary stress as 'LongFEL-low'. Mastery requires isolating each syllable and practicing the transition between /ŋ/ and /foʊ/ with a crisp stop.
As a proper noun, 'Longfellow' often triggers queries about famous individuals or places named Longfellow, so ensure you capture both the surname and reference to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The unique phonetic challenge is preserving the two-morpheme rhythm with distinct vowel qualities: /ɔ/ vs /oʊ/ in successive syllables, and clear /ŋ/ final consonant before /foʊ/. For SEO, include both 'Longfellow pronunciation' and 'Henry Wadsworth Longfellow pronunciation' in content to satisfy natural search intent.
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Longfellow is a patronymic/occupational-style English surname that likely originated from a geographical or descriptive compound. The first element, long, is from Old English lang/lang, contrasting with short or narrow features and often used as a descriptive epithet. The second element, fellow, derives from Old English felaga/felag, meaning partner or companion, and later evolved to denote a person or man. The construction suggests a “long man” or “long companion,” possibly referring to a tall person, a person of length (as in a long stretch of land), or a person who is a traveling companion described by longevity or steadfastness. The name appears in English records from the early modern period and became associated with individuals inhabiting or named by locales bearing similar phonetic structures. In American usage, Longfellow is overwhelmingly recognized as a surname rather than a common noun, with strong cultural associations to the 19th‑century poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, whose fame cemented the spelling and pronunciation in modern English. First known uses appear in 16th–17th century parish records and legal documents, with spellings varianting as Langfelow, Langwellow, and Longfelowe at different times. The semantic drift from a generic compound to a fixed surname reflects broader English naming conventions where descriptive compounds became hereditary identifiers rather than literal descriptions. Across centuries, pronunciation stabilized near /ˈlɔːŋˌfoʊloʊ/ in American English, with minor vowel variations in other dialects, illustrating how a descriptive compound can fossilize into a well-known family name.
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Words that rhyme with "longfellow"
-low sounds
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