colonial
/kəˈloʊ.njəl/adjective, noun
colonial is spelled C-O-L-O-N-I-A-L: 8 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,407th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, colonial means “Of or pertaining to a colony” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in colonial?
| Letters | 8: C-O-L-O-N-I-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 15 times per million words; the 5,407th 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 colonial?
Colonial appears 15 times per million words in written English, the 5,407th 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 colonial?
- UK /kəˈləʊ.ni.əl/
- US /kəˈloʊ.njəl/
- US /kəˈloʊ.ni.əl/
Colonial has 4 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-colonial.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of colonial
- more colonial comparative
- most colonial superlative
- colonials plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does colonial mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of or pertaining to a colony.
- 2
Of or pertaining to a period when a country or territory was a colony.
- 3
Of or pertaining to the ideals of colonialism.
- 4
USOf or relating to the original Thirteen Colonies of the USA.
- 5
USOf or relating to the style of architecture prevalent at about the time of the Revolution.
- 6
Tending to form colonies (especially of cells).
noun
- 1
A person from a country that is or was controlled by another.
- 2
USA house that is built in a style reminiscent of the period of the colonization of New England.
- 3
A coin or postage stamp issued by a colony.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Colonial in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
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 colonial come from?
From colony + -al.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).