cranium
/ˈkɹeɪ.ni.əm/noun
cranium is spelled C-R-A-N-I-U-M: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,767th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, cranium means “That part of the skull consisting of the bones enclosing the brain, but not including the bones of the face or jaw” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of cranium is craniums or crania.
How many letters and syllables are in cranium?
| Letters | 7: C-R-A-N-I-U-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 44,767th 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 cranium?
Cranium appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,767th 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 cranium?
- /ˈkɹeɪ.ni.əm/
Cranium has 3 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-cranium.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-cranium.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of cranium
- craniums plural
- crania plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does cranium mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
That part of the skull consisting of the bones enclosing the brain, but not including the bones of the face or jaw.
- 2
informalThe upper portion of the skull, including the neurocranium and facial bones, but not including the jawbone (mandible).
- 3
informalSynonym of skull.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Cranium in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense (anatomy) braincase or neurocranium:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | boîte crânienne |
| German | Hirnschädel, Hirnschale |
| Portuguese | crânio |
| Spanish | cráneo |
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 cranium come from?
From Medieval Latin crānium (“skull”), from Ancient Greek κρᾱνίον (krāníon, “skull”). By surface analysis, crani- + -um.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).