Migratory

[Brazilian dude]

I always thought migratory was pronounced MIH-gruh-to-ree (maybe because of minatory?), but today I came across my-GRAY-to-ree in a German-English dictionary. I was shocked to see my-GRAY-to-ree and looked it up in www.merriamwebster.com and found MY-gruh-to-ree, but no my-GRAY-to-ree. Maybe the latter is the British pronunciation? I can bring myself to say MY-gruh-to-ree, but my-GRAY-tuh-ree

On a second thought, my-GRAY-tuh-ree would be more logical if I pronounced migrate as my-GRATE, but I pronounce it MY-grate, with the stress on the first syllable.

Brazilian dude

[skinem]

Never seen it or heard it my-GRAY-tor-ee before...printing/editorial error? (Not that it ever happens.)

[gailr]

I grew up with MY-gruh-to-ree.

I've only encountered my-GRAY-to-ree in my all-time favorite movie, Monty Python and the Holy Grail:
"Are you suggesting coconuts are mi-GRA-tory?"
I've never looked up whether that is correct British English or just more Python silliness.

-gailr

[Huny]

I always thought it was pronounced MIH-gruh-to-ree also. Growing up in CA, we heard and used the word often due to the migratory birds, the swallows. For some unknown reason, they keep their own little internal time clocks and come and go from San Juan Capistrano on the same day every year. Now that is a good example of migratory at it's finest! Read on...



A city of southern California southeast of Santa Ana. Founded as a mission in 1776, it is famous for the swallows that supposedly return to the area every year on March 19 and depart on October 23, the date on which Saint John of Capistrano died in 1456. Population: 26,183.

Oh, and another thing, speaking of Santa Ana, for those of us who have lived in Southern CA , you would know that the Santa Ana winds are another form of migratory in it's own rite. One can feel the winds all the way up in Santa Barbara. It's mother natures own little quagmire: in other words, the hot, dry desert winds literally add fule to the fire when it comes to wild fires. (Muy caliente! No,BD?)

[Stargzer]

I've always pronounced it slightly differently, moving the "r" to the previous syllable:

MIH-gruh-tor-ee

with "tor" rhyming with "or."

[sluggo]

I've always pronounced it slightly differently, moving the "r" to the previous syllable:

MIH-gruh-tor-ee

with "tor" rhyming with "or."

I put a silent G, shift the first O to A and toss in an extra E for extraneous effort:

MIGH-grah-tor-eee
or in UK: MI-gra-tree