Monophthong Definition
mŏnəf-thông, -thŏng
noun
A simple vowel sound during the utterance of which the vocal organs remain in a relatively unchanging position, as (ä), (), or (i)
Webster's New World
A single vowel articulated without change in quality throughout the course of a syllable, as the vowel of English bed.
American Heritage
Two written vowels representing a single sound, as oa in boat.
American Heritage
A vowel (in the sense of a sound rather than a letter of the alphabet) that has the same sound throughout its pronunciation, such as the short vowels in "pap", "pep", "pip", "pop" and "pup", as opposed to a diphthong (eg, /aɪ/, the vowel in "pipe") or a triphthong (eg, /aɪə/, the sound in the non-rhotic pronunciation of "pyre").
Wiktionary
Origin of Monophthong
From Ancient Greek μονόφθογγος (monophthongos), from μόνος (monos, “single") + φθόγγος (phthongos, “sound").
From Wiktionary
Late Greek monophthongos Greek mono- mono- Greek phthongos sound
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
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