I need help finding a Word that starts Cy- and pronounced kI-

[threesailers]

I love the way I spell my daughters name. It is spelled Cylee. It is pronounced as kI-lee.

I am looking to prove to someone that I can spell it with a C. A few friends suggested that it is an Irish grammar issuse That got me no where. They don't use Y.
Others sent me this...

I just checked with the Oxford English Dictionary and here is what it listed for "Cyrus":

Mainly U.S.: from the Greek form (Kyros) of the name of several kings of Persia, most notably Cyrus the Great (d. 529 BC)

So, in other words, "Cyrus" came from the Greek name "Kyros" which means that it was originally pronounced "ki" (long i) and got changed along the way somewhere. So, there is some proof that Cylee could easily have the "ki" pronounciation.

Cathy

[rewboss]

Well, the Welsh language has a Y and the C is always a "k" sound -- most notably in the Welsh word for "Wales", which is "Cymru" (pronounced: "come-ree").

But as for English, you won't have much luck convincing anyone. The best you can say is that in words derived from Greek, the "c" actually represents a "k" sound. Our words "cinema" and "ceramic" ought to be pronounced as if spelled with "k".

But that argument doesn't hold much water for words not of Greek or Celtic origin.

[Ouisch]

Excuse my frankness, but I've never understood the need for "creative" spelling of names. If you like the name Kylie, why not spell it that way? Your daughter's name will be pronounced throughout her life much more than it will be written down, and when it's spoken out loud, no one knows that it is spelled "Cylee." She's going to spend her entire school career correcting the teacher on the first day when they call her "Sy-lee."

That's my two cents. Stepping off soapbox now.

[rewboss]

Actually, while faddish, modern "creative spelling" is no worse than many much older spellings of English proper names. Many families, moving to the States, respelled their names, but in Britain they kept the old spellings. Ben Affleck's ancestors would have spelled their name "Auchinlech" but still pronounced it "Affleck". The name "Woolfhardisworthy" is pronounced "Woolsey".

This was lampooned in the famous Monty Python sketch involving a man whose name is spelled "Raymond Luxury-Yacht" but pronounced "Throatwobbler Mangrove".

[Casiopea]

Originally Posted by threesailers

It is spelled Cylee. It is pronounced as kI-lee.

If it's pronounced [kaj]-lee ([kaj] in kite), then "C" is a Latinized version of the Autralian Aborigine word kylie (Quite an interesting etymology!) ; Cf. Kim, Kym, Cym, all pronounced [kIm] ([I] in sit).

kylie : Boomerang. A Western Australian word. It occurs in all the languages from New Norcia down to the south-west corner of the continent including the Perth area. Spelling such as kylie, kylee and kiley occur suggesting a pronunciation kaili.
SOURCE

Note that,

• The letter <k> wasn't in the Roman's alphabet.
• Romans wrote the sound [k] as <c>.
• The letter <c> wasn't in the Greek's alphabet.
• Greek scribes changed Roman <c> to Greek <k>.
• Roman scribes changed Greek <k> to Roman <c>.

No wonder the Anglo-Saxons used both <k> and <c> to represent the sound [k]. We're still doing it today;e.g., Kathy, Cathy; Kris, Chris, to name but a few of many. Transliteration. That's the reason, and that's all the proof you need.

By the way, Greek Kyros comes from the word kyra, a Persian name:

Kyra, a Persian name meaning "light" or "sun".
Kyros, Greek version, a male Greek name meaning "Lord".
Cyrus, Latinization of Greek Kyros; K => C
Ciara, Anglicization; K => C

In Middle English, <c> was written before vowels <e>, <i>, <y>, and <k> was written elsewhere. That's why it's rather difficult if not near impossible to find a word in modern English that's spelled <cy> and pronounced [k]y word-initially (e.g., there's [s]yber, [s]yst; [k]yle, etc.). Your daughter's name Cylee doesn't fit that pattern. It's not an Anglicized version. If it were, you'd be calling her [s]ylee or [ch]ylee.

In short, the fact that ' "Cyrus" was originally pronounced "ki" (long i) ' does not support that 'Cylee could easily have the "ki" pronunciation.' The reason being, Cylee is not related to Greek, Latin, or an obscure Persian word. It's Australian Aborigine with a Latinized twist.

All the best.

[Casiopea]

Originally Posted by rewboss

This was lampooned in the famous Monty Python sketch involving a man whose name is spelled "Raymond Luxury-Yacht" but pronounced "Throatwobbler Mangrove".

rewboss, you slay me.

[Ouisch]

Originally Posted by rewboss

Actually, while faddish, modern "creative spelling" is no worse than many much older spellings of English proper names. Many families, moving to the States, respelled their names, but in Britain they kept the old spellings. Ben Affleck's ancestors would have spelled their name "Auchinlech" but still pronounced it "Affleck". The name "Woolfhardisworthy" is pronounced "Woolsey".

Personally, I think simplifying the spelling of a name (as in your examples) makes a bit more sense than spelling a child's name "Gennypher" instead of "Jennifer" because it looks more "creative" or "unique." The name will still be pronounced the same, so why bother saddling the kid with having to spell her name out after pronouncing it for the rest of her life?

But again, bad baby names are just my personal bete noire, and I certainly don't want to offend any mamas on the board.