acolyte
/ˈæk.ə.laɪt/noun
acolyte is spelled A-C-O-L-Y-T-E: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 58,714th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, acolyte means “One who has received the highest of the four minor orders in the Catholic Church, being ordained to carry the wine, water and lights at Mass” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of acolyte is acolytes.
How many letters and syllables are in acolyte?
| Letters | 7: A-C-O-L-Y-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 58,714th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is acolyte?
Acolyte appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 58,714th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce acolyte?
- UK /ˈæk.ə.laɪt/
- US /ˈæk.ə.laɪt/
- US [ˈæk.ə.lɐɪt]
Acolyte has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-acolyte.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of acolyte
- acolytes plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does acolyte mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
One who has received the highest of the four minor orders in the Catholic Church, being ordained to carry the wine, water and lights at Mass.
- 2
An altar server.
- 3
An attendant, assistant, or follower.
- 4
A devoted follower, fan, especially an overly eager one, following blindly.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Acolyte in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | acolyte |
| German | Akolyth , Gehilfe |
| Portuguese | acólito , assistente, ajudante |
| Spanish | acólito |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does acolyte come from?
From Middle English acolite, acolit, from Old French acolyt and Late Latin acolythus, from Ancient Greek ἀκόλουθος (akólouthos, “follower, attendant”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).