camera
cam·er·a/ˈkæməɹə/noun
camera is spelled C-A-M-E-R-A: 6 letters and 3 syllables (cam·er·a). It appears 74 times per million words in written English, the 1,427th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, camera means “A device for taking still or moving pictures or photographs” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of camera is cameras; Wiktionary also lists cameræ (rare), camerae (rare).
How many letters and syllables are in camera?
| Letters | 6: C-A-M-E-R-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: cam·er·a |
| In writing | 74 times per million words; the 1,427th 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 camera?
Camera appears 74 times per million words in written English, the 1,427th 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 camera?
- UK /ˈkæməɹə/
- UK /ˈkæmɹə/
- British /ˈkaməɹə/
Camera has 3 syllables, split cam·er·a in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-camera.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-camera.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of camera
- cameras plural
- cameræ plural, rare
- camerae plural, rare
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does camera mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A device for taking still or moving pictures or photographs.
- 2
The viewpoint in a three-dimensional game or simulation.
- 3
A vaulted room.
- 4
A judge's private chamber, where cases may be heard in camera.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Camera in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | appareil photo , caméra |
| German | Fotoapparat, Kamera , Videokamera |
| Portuguese | câmara fotográfica, câmera fotográfica, máquina fotográfica , videocâmara, videocâmera |
| Spanish | cámara, cámara fotográfica, fotocámara, kódak, lente, kodak |
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 camera come from?
Learned borrowing from Latin camera (“chamber or bedchamber”), from Ancient Greek καμάρα (kamára, “anything with an arched cover, a covered carriage or boat, a vaulted chamber, a vault”), of Old Iranian origin, from Proto-Iranian *kamarā- (“something curved”), from *kamárati, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *kmárati, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kh₂em- (“to bend, curve”). Doublet of chamber. (device): An ellipsis of camera obscura, from New Latin camera obscura (“dark chamber”), because the first cameras used a pinhole and a dark room.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).