desman
des·man/ˈdɛz.mən/noun
desman is spelled D-E-S-M-A-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables (des·man). It appears about once in every 91 million words in written English, the 305,310th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, desman means “Either of two species, Desmana moschata or Galemys pyrenaicus, of aquatic or semiaquatic insectivore of the mole family, Talpidae, found in Europe” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of desman is desmans.
How many letters and syllables are in desman?
| Letters | 6: D-E-S-M-A-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: des·man |
| In writing | about once in every 91 million words; the 305,310th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is desman?
Desman appears about once in every 91 million words in written English, the 305,310th 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 desman?
- UK /ˈdɛsmən/
- US /ˈdɛz.mən/
Desman has 2 syllables, split des·man in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-desman.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with desman?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as desman (/ɛzmən/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: amends.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of desman
- desmans plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does desman mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Either of two species, Desmana moschata or Galemys pyrenaicus, of aquatic or semiaquatic insectivore of the mole family, Talpidae, found in Europe.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Desman in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense insectivore of the mole family:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | desman |
| German | Desman, Bisamrüssler |
| Portuguese | toupeira-de-água |
| Spanish | desmán |
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 desman come from?
From French desman, German Desman, from Swedish desmanråtta (“muskrat”), from desman (“musk”, older also desma, desme), from Middle Low German dēsem, from Old Saxon desamo, alteration of *besamo (cf. Old High German bisamo), from Late Latin bisamum (“musk”), from Hebrew בושם (bāśām, bōśem). Doublet of balm and balsam.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).