bedstraw
/ˈbɛd.stɹɔ/noun
bedstraw is spelled B-E-D-S-T-R-A-W: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 65 million words in written English, the 252,559th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, bedstraw means “Any plant of herb genus Galium of the madder family with small pointed leaves and hairy stems with small, white or yellow flowers” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of bedstraw is bedstraws.
How many letters and syllables are in bedstraw?
| Letters | 8: B-E-D-S-T-R-A-W |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 65 million words; the 252,559th 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 bedstraw?
Bedstraw appears about once in every 65 million words in written English, the 252,559th 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 bedstraw?
- UK /ˈbɛd.stɹɔː/
- US /ˈbɛd.stɹɔ/
- /ˈbɛd.stɹɑ/
Bedstraw 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-bedstraw.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of bedstraw
- bedstraws plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bedstraw mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Any plant of herb genus Galium of the madder family with small pointed leaves and hairy stems with small, white or yellow flowers.
- 2
Any plant of the genus Cruciata.
- 3
obsoleteStraw placed into a bed.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bedstraw in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense any plant of the herb genus Galium:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Labkraut |
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 bedstraw come from?
From Middle English bedstraw, bedstrau, bedde-straw, equivalent to bed + straw.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).