What are the word records for silent letters?
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Problem
What are the word records for silent letters? (Pronunciation / Miscellaneous / Subset of Word) a. longest sequence [5-150] b. for each letter [B46,6-164,15-90,152,212,20-47] i. at beginning c. homophones, for each letter [10-26,83,152,11-89] d. pronounced when suffixed [18-240,19-22] [ Editor: question framed by the editor from the headings of the Taxonomy of Wordplay. ]
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[ Editor: from the Taxonomy of Wordplay, www.questrel.com, retrieved 28 Oct 2026. Classes (common, uncommon, hyphenated words, phrases), scores, ties (-t) and the source codes in brackets are explained in language/english/word.records.introduction. ]
a. longest sequence [5-150]
uncommon word: brougham (4, ugha)
b. for each letter [B46,6-164,15-90,152,212,20-47]
i. at beginning
see list "Word That Begins with Each Silent Letter" below
ii. internally
see list "Word That Contains Each Silent Letter" below
iii. at end
see list "Word That Ends with Each Silent Letter" below
c. homophones, for each letter [10-26,83,152,11-89]
see list "Homophones Differing by Each Letter" below
d. pronounced when suffixed [18-240,19-22]
see list "Word That, When a Suffix is Added, Reveals a Silent Letter" below
Word That Begins with Each Silent Letter
----------------------------------------
a aisle
b bdellium
c czar
d djinni
e eider
f ?
g gnaw
h hour
i ius
j justitiae
k know
l ?
m mnemonic
n Ngo
o oedipal
p psyche
q ?
r Rzeszow
s ?
t tsunami
u ?
v ?
w write
x ?
y yean
z ?
Word That Contains Each Silent Letter
-------------------------------------
a liar
b debt
c indict
d handsome
e twitched
f halfpenny
g phlegm
h ghost
i business
j rijsttafel
k blackguard
l talk
m panmnesia
n monsieur
o people
p sapphire
q cinq-cents
r forecastle
s viscount
t apostle
u plaque
v fivepence
w two
x fauxbourg
y prayer
z rendezvous
Word That Ends with Each Silent Letter
--------------------------------------
a parmigiana
b comb
c en banc
d sangfroid
e borne
f roman a` clef
g bourg
h myrrh
i hegari
j Bitolj
k Perak
l fauteuil
m ?
n autumn
o ?
p coup
q ?
r foyer
s apropos
t rapport
u nunchaku
v ?
w tow
x doux
y day
z oyez
Homophones Differing by Each Letter
-----------------------------------
a oar & or
b lamb & lam
c scent & sent
d add & ad
e bye & by
f barff & barf
g reign & rein
h hour & our
i waive & wave
j hajji & haji
k knot & not
l halve & have
m primmer & primer
n damn & dam
o callous & callus
p psalter & salter
q ?
r carries & caries
s scent & cent
t butt & but
u buy & by
v civvies & civies
w two & to
x beaux & beau
y rey & re
z bizz & biz
Word That, When a Suffix is Added, Reveals a Silent Letter
----------------------------------------------------------
a real & reality
b bomb & bombard
c muscle & muscular
d edge & edgar
e line & linear
f ?
g resign & resignation
h vehicle & vehicular
i fruit & fruition
j ?
k ?
l balk & balkan
m ?
n condemn & condemnation
o theory & theoretical
p receipt & reception
q ?
r ?
s bourgeois & bourgeoisie
t ballet & balletic
u circuit & circuituous
v ?
w cow & coward
x beaux & beauxite
y portray & portrayal
z oyez & oyezes
-- Taxonomy of Wordplay, www.questrel.com