Stupid Question...

[emraldshadowcat]

How do you pronounce athame?

[Lunamoth]

...is the one not asked.

I have always pronounced it "ah-thah-may" with the stress on the first syllable. Others may have a different take on it.

[Ball-Bhreac Ròn]

I pronounce it 'athawmay'...don't worry about getting it wrong, I pronounced it 'athayme' for yeeeeeeeeeears (maybe a bit of an exagurration) before I read on a website I'd got it wrong.
But I got particularly worried when I saw on a joke page 'How to tell a wannabe witch - they pronounce athame 'athayme''. That annoyed me - just because someone pronounces something differently, doesn't mean they're any more or less of anything :D

[Myst]

I think that's because you know they're probably new to the craft if they pronounce it phonetically and not properly - for example someone who doesn't know me very well might pronounce my nick "miste" rather then "mist".

And yes ath-em-ay or ath-awm-ay are how I've heard it.

[Danustouch]

Yep..that's how I say it...Ath em ay, stress on the first syllable. My friend says it ath Am ey, stress on the second syllable, but no "aw" sound.

[manstranger]

I've heard both Ath am ay and Ath ame. The former is considered correct.

But i don't think it really matters how you pronounce it. Most Pagan people know what you mean either way. But its still criticized when you pronounce it like it looks. Its the same deal with Samhain, Lughnassad (sp? i normally say Lammas), and some God and Goddess names. Its one of the newbie bashing deals, because mostly newbies do it.

[Chibi-Fallon]

Well not to many Pagany things start with an "a" so if they say something that starts with an "a" and they point at an athame that works well. So does " that knife thingy-ma-jigger over there". ;) This made me realize just how little I actually say "athame" I don't think I have a set way to pronounce it. I am however a big fan of pronouns.