diabetes
/ˌdaɪəˈbitiz/noun
diabetes is spelled D-I-A-B-E-T-E-S: 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 a noun, diabetes means “Diabetes mellitus; any of a group of metabolic diseases whereby a person (or other animal) has high blood sugar due to an inability to produce, or…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in diabetes?
| Letters | 8: D-I-A-B-E-T-E-S |
|---|---|
| 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 diabetes?
Diabetes 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 diabetes?
- UK /ˌdaɪəˈbiːtiːz/
- UK /ˌdaɪəˈbiːtɪs/
- US /ˌdaɪəˈbitiz/
Diabetes 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: En-au-diabetes.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What does diabetes mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Diabetes mellitus; any of a group of metabolic diseases whereby a person (or other animal) has high blood sugar due to an inability to produce, or inability to metabolize, sufficient quantities of the hormone insulin.
- 2
slangAny food or beverage with a high amount of sugar.
- 3
Diabetes insipidus; any condition characterized by excessive or incontinent urine, now specifically as caused by impaired production of, or response to, the antidiuretic hormone vasopressin.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Diabetes in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense A group of metabolic diseases:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | diabète |
| German | Diabetes, Zuckerkrankheit, Zucker |
| Portuguese | diabetes, diabete |
| Spanish | diabetes, diábetis, diabetis |
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 diabetes come from?
From Latin diabētēs (“siphon”), from Ancient Greek διαβήτης (diabḗtēs), from Ancient Greek διαβαίνω (diabaínō, “to pass through”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).