onset
/ˈɒnset/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈɑːnset/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈȯn-ˌset ˈän-/ (ame, mw) · /-ˈɒn.set/ (bre, ipa) · /-ˈɑːn.set/ (ame, ipa)
onset — noun
1. the point when something starts, most often a disease, a difficulty, or another
the point when something starts, most often a disease, a difficulty, or another unwelcome change.
The sudden onset of fever worried the parents.
sudden onset of + symptom
With the onset of winter, buses reached the mountain village less often.
with the onset of + season
Marcus noticed the onset of pain while climbing the last stairs.
After the onset of the storm, fishing boats hurried back to shore.
The nurse recorded the onset of symptoms at three in the morning.
文法句型
the onset of + illness/problem/season
用法筆記
Common in formal writing with 'of', especially for illness, pain, bad weather, war, or other major changes. Distinguish from the everyday 'start' or 'beginning': 'onset' is less natural for ordinary happy events like parties or holidays.
常見錯誤
2. the opening consonant sound, or consonant group, before the vowel in a syllable.
the opening consonant sound, or consonant group, before the vowel in a syllable.
Pointing at 'play' on the board, Ms. Lin said the onset is /pl/.
onset in phonetics
The teacher wrote the onset and the rhyme in different colors.
During reading class, Mia stumbled on 'street' because its complex onset confused her.
When Leo said 'me' slowly, the teacher marked /m/ as the onset.
- initial consonant
close in simple cases, but onset can include more than one consonant
- syllable opening
plain-English explanation rather than the standard technical label
- coda
the consonant sound after the vowel in a syllable
文法句型
the onset is + sound
complex onset
用法筆記
Used in phonetics and phonology when a syllable is divided into parts such as onset and rhyme. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is a technical term about speech sounds, not about the beginning of an event or illness.
常見錯誤
onset — suffix
1. added after another word to show when an illness begins or what kind of beginnin
added after another word to show when an illness begins or what kind of beginning it has, as in 'late-onset' or 'sudden-onset'.
Her father developed late-onset diabetes after turning sixty.
late-onset + disease
The report described sudden-onset hearing loss after the explosion.
At the memory clinic, doctors study early-onset dementia in people under sixty-five.
After months of coughing, Grace learned she had adult-onset asthma.
文法句型
[word]-onset + illness/condition
用法筆記
Almost always appears in hyphenated medical compounds before the name of a disease or condition. Distinguish from noun sense 1: this sense is not a free-standing noun, but part of forms such as 'late-onset' and 'early-onset'.