Letter 'b' is silent in 'plumber'. Letter 'b' is generally not pronounced if letters 'm' and 'b' occur together in a word. Examples : plumb, comb, tomb, plumber etc. This rule is applicable when letters 'm' and 'b' are the parts of the same syllable.
The word plumber originates from the Old-French word plummier. As you can see, the loanword plummier has no b in it. The written b was added during the the renaissance when intellectuals realized that the French word was itself derived from the Latin plumbarius which has a b.
this word in british english as well as in american english as the two pronunciations vary slightly if you've been wondering yes the b is silent here for some reason in british english. this is normally pronounced as plummer plummer pretty straightforward plummer in american english.
Tips to improve your English pronunciation:
Break 'plumber' down into sounds: [PLUM] + [UH] - say it out loud and exaggerate the sounds until you can consistently produce them.
Most of the time if you're indebted to someone you're grateful to them for giving you something or making something possible.
In the word 'sandwich', if you looked that up in the dictionary, you WOULD see the D sound. But it's actually never pronounced that way. So Wednesday, Handsome: the dictionary says no D.
Today the latest versions of the OED (most recently updated in December 2022), plus current standard American and British dictionaries, give dual pronunciations of "almond," both with and without the "l" sound. The OED says both versions are used in both British and American English.
Originally Answered: In English, was the 'b' in plumbing and plumber ever pronounced? The word comes apparently from Old French plomier or plummier, and neither form is spelt with a “b”, so it seems likely that in English it was never pronounced.
“Plumber.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plumber.
B. Most silent b's come at the ends of words and just after m: bomb, climb, comb, crumb, dumb, lamb, limb, numb, plumb, thumb, tomb.
From plumbum came plumbarius “a worker in lead,” a meaning that held up through Old French plomier, which became, in the 15th century, the English word plumber. Original plumbers were not experts in the flow of water and waste; they were simply people who worked in lead.
: a pillow block or bearing block.
Letter 'b' is silent in 'plumber'. Letter 'b' is generally not pronounced if letters 'm' and 'b' occur together in a word. Examples : plumb, comb, tomb, plumber etc.
Silent b is introduced in the word 'lamb'. To help remember this silent letter, there is a story of how the word was originally spelt – lambaz – in old Germanic. Over time the 'baz' at the end of the word was dropped from the pronunciation but the 'b' remained in the spelling of the word.
Silent letter rule: don't pronounce the "b" in words ending in -bt, like "debt" and "doubt".
Ben Franklin is the leading firm of plumbers in Wichita and if you have ever thought the word “plumber” was a little strange, it actually derives from the Latin word “plumbum” which means liquid silver and refers to their lead pipes. Yes, the Romans had lead pipes.
The word "plumber" is derived from the Latin word plumbum, which means lead. Years ago, pipes were made from lead, so those who worked with pipes became known as "plumbers."
The letter ⟨k⟩ is normally silent (i.e. it does not reflect any sound) when it precedes an ⟨n⟩ at the beginning of a word, as in “knife”, and sometimes by extension in other positions.
What is the origin of the silent 'b' at the end of English words such as lamb, comb, crumb and bomb? WE OWE the silent 'b' to the fact that centuries ago our ancestors pronounced a b-sound: climb was Old English climban, and bomb comes from Italian bomba. The b-sound was lost by about 1300.
Silent L words
The letter L is silent in the words including should, could, would, half, calf, chalk, talk, walk, folk, and yolk.