Winged or Wingèd?

Question

Okay.. here is the problem:

In a certain story I am writing, I have a place called the "Winged Lion Inn" which serves as a locus for several story-related events.

I have a friend that insists it should be [pronounced] the "Wingèd Lion Inn" instead, using "learnèd" or "three-leggèd" as examples.

English is a highly flexible language, especially when dealing with matters of pronunciation, so I would like to know if my friend's view is correct.

Tushar Raj · Accepted Answer

It's not mere poetic licesce.

Words ending in -ed are pronounced /id/ if they serve as adjectives. In case of verbs, the syllable is dropped unless the verb ends in -d or -t

I learned the truth.
He was a learnED man
He crooked a finger for the waitress.
His teeth were yellow and crookED

Also note jagged, wicked, rugged etc...

This "rule" (like every rule ever) isn't without a few exceptions; winged seems to be one of them, according to Oxford.

PS - 'Beloved' is a semi-exception, in that both pronunciations are acceptable.

Cerberus_Reinstate_Monica · Answer

There are no hard rules for the pronunciation of adjectives/participles on -ed. Normally, they are all pronounced -d/t, like striped, except those ending on -ted and -ded. But there are many exceptions pronounced as -id, like naked. The exceptions are almost all adjectives, or participles used as adjectives: true verbal participles are almost always pronounced the standard way, as -d/t.

Then there are words that can be pronounced either way, such as wingid/wingd, according to the Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed.). Note that, when winged means "shot in the wing", it is always pronounced wingd, according to the same dictionary.

Winged or Wingèd?

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