Where is 'urinal' pronounced with a long 'i'?

The OED suggests both a short and a long 'i' are acceptable without assigning either to the UK or to the US:

  • ur i nal — /ˈjʊərɪnəl/

and

  • ur eye nal — /jʊəˈrnəl/

In my limited experience the only people who pronounce it with the long 'i' are from Great Britain. Conversely, I don't think I've ever heard an English person use the pronunciation with the short 'i'; my sample population is very small, however. Is this a regional-, age-, or class-dependent thing?


The OED gives the pronunciation as both /jʊəˈrʌɪnəl/ and /ˈjʊərɪnəl/ without distinguishing between AE and BE.

I have a tendency towards:

As a noun: a place or vessel in which to urinate /jʊəˈrʌɪnəl/

"The gents' urinals are on the left."

As an adjective: relating to the urinary system, /ˈjʊərɪnəl/

"I am afraid you have a urinal infection."