Maisonettes is the plural of maisonette, a self-contained dwelling typically two floors within a building. In British usage it often refers to a duplex apartment, while in some contexts it may describe a small house-like unit. The term carries a slightly formal, architectural nuance and is more common in real estate descriptions and older or formal writing.
"The property consists of three maisonettes arranged over two levels."
"She lived in a bright, airy maisonette with a balcony."
"The building houses several maisonettes, each with its own entrance."
"Researchers noted a trend toward maisonettes in urban redevelopment projects."
Maisonette comes from French, where maison is “house.” The diminutive -ette indicates a smaller form or a smaller version within a larger whole. The word entered English in the 19th century, initially in architectural and estate catalogs to describe a two-level, maison-like dwelling. It carried the sense of a smaller unit within a larger building, often with its own entrance, essentially a duplex. Over time, English usage broadened to include small town houses that resemble a house-shaped unit within a block. The plural maisonettes developed to refer to multiple such units. The term’s prestige and continental flavor helped it spread in UK real estate discourse, and it remains common in British English, with occasional adoption in other varieties. First known uses appear in 19th-century French-influenced real estate listings and architectural treatises, demonstrating the word’s roots in house typology and urban housing design.
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Words that rhyme with "Maisonettes"
-tes sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Pronounce as /ˌmeɪ.zɪˈnɛts/ for US/UK/AU. Stress the 'nez' portion as secondary to the 'ma' syllable: 'may-zi-NETS'. The middle syllable is a lax schwa or a reduced 'zih' sound, depending on the speaker. Try to keep the final -ettes as a crisp /-ɛts/ rather than a prolonged vowel. Listening to native speakers can help; you can search Pronounce or Forvo for authentic samples.
Two frequent errors: misplacing the primary stress on the first syllable instead of the second; and blending the final -ettes with a vague vowel instead of crisp /-ɛts/. Correct by emphasizing the -nets/-nɛts ending and keeping the middle syllable as a reduced syllable /zɪ/ or /zə/ without adding extra vowel length. Practice with slow, then speed-up tempo to lock in the pattern.
US tends to have a slightly sharper final /-nets/ with a more pronounced 'z' in the middle; UK and AU keep a steady /ˌmeɪ.zɪˈnɛts/ but AU vowel quality can be broader and the r-less UK can have a shorter middle vowel. The rhotic vs non-rhotic difference impacts only the preceding vowel quality in connected speech. Listen for the final /ɛts/ clarity across dialects.
The difficulty lies in the long‑ish stressed second syllable and the transition from a stressed first vowel into a reduced middle syllable before a crisp final /ɛts/. The /z/–/ɪ/ to /n/ shift in rapid speech can blur if you’re not keeping the middle vowel distinct. Focusing on precise syllable boundaries and ending with an explosive /-ɛts/ helps clarity.
Does the word ever lose its plural s in rapid speech? In careful speech you pronounce the final /s/ as an /s/ sound after the /-t/ in plural forms; in fast connected speech, some speakers may link or elide slightly, but standard pronunciation retains the /-z/ or /-s/ plural ending as /-ɛts/ with an audible final /s/ or /z/ quality depending on voicing before the -ts cluster.
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