Vowel 4, /æ/ versus null, 93 pairs     [acidsid.html]

The /æ/ sound is spelled with <a>.

The /æ/ sound is usually stressed, which means that removing it rarely leaves a free-standing word. Many of the pairs below arise from removing an a- prefix (from Latin ad-). Sometimes this changes the meaning very little, as with affix/fix, annotate/notate, appertain/pertain and avocation/vocation. In other cases the prefix does change the meaning, as with allocate/locate or attribute/tribute.

The density value is very low at 0.08%. The set makes 57 semantic distinctions, giving a loading of 61%.

 	
abbé bay                  
  abbés bays                  
abbess Bess                
abbeys biz
Abo beau
Abo bow
  Abos bows
acid Sid
acquiescence quiescence           
  acquiescences quiescences          
  acquiescent quiescent
added did
adding ding
address dress
Adelaide delayed              
affix fix                 
  affixes fixes               
  affixed fixed
affluent fluent              
aggro grow
agnostic gnostic              
  agnosticism gnosticism           
  agnostics gnostics           
Alex licks
ally lie
  allies lies
allocate locate
  allocated located             
  allocates locates             
  allocating locating            
  allocation location            
  allocations locations           
aloe low                  
  aloes lows                  
ammunition munition
anise knees
annotate notate              
  annotated notated             
  annotates notates             
  annotating notating            
  annotation notation            
  annotations notations           
annual newel                 
anode node                 
  anodes nodes                
apache patchy               
  apaches patches               
apathetic pathetic
  apathetically pathetically         
appertain pertain             
  appertained pertained           
  appertaining pertaining          
  appertains pertains            
apposition position            
approbation probation           
arid rid                   
aromatic rheumatic             
arrack rack
arrow row	  
  arrows rows
arrows rose                
Ascot Scot                  
attic tick                 
Attic tick                 
attics ticks                
attract tracked               
attract tract
  attracts tracts             
attraction traction          
attribute tribute             
  attributes tributes            
avocation vocation
  avocations vocations            
ballets blaze               
baluster bluster
  balusters blusters             
callipers clippers               
Diana Dinah                
gallows glows               
invalid invalid               
phallic flick                
piazza pizza               
  piazzas pizzas               
sallow slow
  sallower slower                
saphead  sped              
sappier spear
satrap strap               
  satraps straps               
Saturn stern                
satyr stir                 
  satyrs stirs                
triad tried                 

John Higgins, Shaftesbury, August 2018, updated Chiang Mai, May 2024