syllabe

S1Y4L1L1A1B3E1

A form of syllable — A unit of human speech which often forms words corresponding to one opening of the mouth; a vowel and its surrounding consonants.

OriginFrench syllabe ← Latin syllaba ← Ancient Greek συλλαβή (sullabḗ) →
Scrabble 12
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Meanings

nounsyllabe (plural syllabes)

plural syllabes

  1. obsoleteObsolete form of syllable.

    A Syllabe is a part of a word that may of itself make a perfect sound; and is sometimes of one only letter, which is always a vowel; sometimes of more.

    1838, Barry Cornwall, The Works of Ben Jonson with a Memoir of His Life and Writings, London, p.776 (The English Grammar, Chap. VI)

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱe?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ḱómder.?
  3. Proto-Indo-European*sem-der.?
  4. Proto-Hellenic*ksún
  5. Ancient Greekσύν (sún)
  6. Ancient Greekσῠν- (sŭn-)
  7. Proto-Indo-European*(s)leh₂gʷ-
  8. Proto-Hellenic*hlagʷ-
  9. Ancient Greekλᾰμβᾰ́νω (lămbắnō)
  10. Ancient Greekσῠλλᾰμβᾰ́νω (sŭllămbắnō)
  11. Ancient Greekσυλλαβή (sullabḗ)
  12. Latinsyllaba
  13. Frenchsyllabe
  14. Englishsyllabe

Borrowed from French syllabe.

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Balsleylysable
Cite this entry
APA

syllabe. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/syllabe

MLA

“syllabe.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/syllabe. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “syllabe,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/syllabe.

Source: syllabe on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.