assegai
/ˈæsəɡaɪ/noun, verb
assegai is spelled A-S-S-E-G-A-I: 7 letters. It appears about once in every 50 million words in written English, the 220,118th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, assegai means “A slim hardwood spear or javelin with an iron tip, especially those used by Bantu peoples of Southern Africa” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of assegai is assegais.
How many letters and syllables are in assegai?
| Letters | 7: A-S-S-E-G-A-I |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 50 million words; the 220,118th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is assegai?
Assegai appears about once in every 50 million words in written English, the 220,118th 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 assegai?
- UK /ˈæsəɡaɪ/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of assegai
- assegais plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- assegaiing participle, present
- assegaied participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does assegai mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A slim hardwood spear or javelin with an iron tip, especially those used by Bantu peoples of Southern Africa.
- 2
The tree species Curtisia dentata, the wood of which is traditionally used to make assegais.
verb
- 1
To spear with an assegai.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Assegai in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense slim hardwood spear or javelin with an iron tip:
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 assegai come from?
From French azagaie (now zagaie) or Portuguese azagaia, Spanish azagaya, and later in the forms that have become most common borrowed from Afrikaans assegaai, from colloquial Arabic اَلزَّغَايَة (az-zaḡāya), from Proto-Berber *zaġāya (“spear”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).