selfmaintaining
The word 'self-maintaining' is a four-syllable adjective (self-main-tain-ing) with primary stress on 'main' (/ˌsɛlfˈmeɪntɛnɪŋ/). It's morphologically composed of the prefix 'self', root 'main', and suffixes '-tain' and '-ing'. Syllabification follows standard English vowel-consonant rules.
Definitions
- 1
Capable of or operating without external support or assistance; requiring no outside maintenance.
“A self-maintaining ecosystem.”
“The robot was designed to be self-maintaining.”
Stress pattern
Primary stress falls on the second syllable ('main'). The first, third, and fourth syllables are unstressed.
Syllables
self — Open syllable, vowel-final.. main — Closed syllable, stressed.. tain — Closed syllable, unstressed.. ing — Syllabic nasal consonant, unstressed.
Word Parts
Similar Words
Vowel-C Rule
Syllables are often divided before a consonant following a vowel.
Vowel-C-C Rule
When a vowel is followed by two consonants, the syllable break usually occurs after the first consonant.
Syllabic Nasal Consonant Rule
Nasal consonants can form syllables on their own when preceded by a vowel.
- The hyphen in 'self-maintaining' is stylistic and doesn't affect syllabification.
- Regional pronunciation variations may exist, but the core syllable structure remains consistent.
Nearby Words
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