Creäture

Pronunciation

• enPR: krÄ“.āʹtyo͝or, IPA: /kɹiːˈeɪtjÊŠÉ™/

Full definition of creäture

Noun

1. (archaic, chiefly literary and philosophy) Alternative spelling of creature

Usage notes

Unlike any of its related terms, creature has not retained the original syllabic break between the ‘e’ and the ‘a’ (as “cre·ature”), having instead undergone synæresis. For this reason, its original sense of “something created” is not always evident to those who hear its modern, disyllabic pronunciation.

Some authors and translators (especially of poetical works) write a diæresis atop the ‘a’, thereby specifying the original trisyllabic pronunciation, either for metrical reasons in poetry, or to remind the listener or reader of the original meaning of creature.