littlebylittle
The phrase 'little-by-little' is divided into five syllables: lit-tle-by-lit-tle. It consists of the repeated root 'little' connected by the preposition 'by'. Stress falls on the first syllable of each 'little'. The syllabification follows standard English rules of onset-rime and vowel presence.
Definitions
- 1
Gradually; slowly; in small increments.
“He learned to play the piano little-by-little.”
“The patient recovered little-by-little.”
Stress pattern
Primary stress falls on the first syllable of each 'little'. The stress pattern is trochaic.
Syllables
lit — Open syllable, stressed.. tle — Closed syllable, unstressed, syllabic consonant.. by — Open syllable, unstressed.. lit — Open syllable, stressed.. tle — Closed syllable, unstressed, syllabic consonant.
Similar Words
Onset-Rime
Syllables are divided based on the onset and rime.
Vowel Rule
Each syllable generally contains one vowel sound.
Compound Word Rule
The phrase is divided between the repeated 'little' and the preposition 'by'.
- The elision of the 't' in 'little' is a common phonetic variation but doesn't affect the orthographic syllable division.
Nearby Words
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