ague
/ˈeɪ.ɡju/noun, verb
ague is spelled A-G-U-E: 4 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 16 million words in written English, the 121,279th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, ague means “An intermittent fever, attended by alternate cold and hot fits” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of ague is agues.
How many letters and syllables are in ague?
| Letters | 4: A-G-U-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 16 million words; the 121,279th 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 ague?
Ague appears about once in every 16 million words in written English, the 121,279th 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 ague?
- /ˈeɪ.ɡju/
Ague has 2 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-ague.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of ague
- agues plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- aguing participle, present
- agued participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ague mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
obsoleteAn acute fever.
- 2
An intermittent fever, attended by alternate cold and hot fits.
- 3
The cold fit or rigor of an intermittent fever.
fever and ague
- 4
A chill, or state of shaking, as with cold.
November 23, 1698, John Dryden, letter to Mrs Stewart I ’scap’d with one cold fit of an ague
- 5
obsoleteMalaria.
verb
- 1
To strike with an ague, or with a cold fit.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ague in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | fièvre |
| German | Wechselfieber , Schüttelfrost |
| Spanish | fiebre intermitente , escalofrío |
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 ague come from?
From Middle English agu, ague, borrowed from Middle French (fievre) aguë, “acute (fever)” (Modern French fièvre aiguë), from Late Latin (febris) acuta (“acute fever”), from Latin acūtus (“sharp, acute”) + febris (“fever”). Doublet of acute.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).