diphtheria
/dɪfˈθɪɹ.i.ə/noun
diphtheria is spelled D-I-P-H-T-H-E-R-I-A: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,209th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, diphtheria means “A serious infectious disease leading to inflammation of mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract, caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of diphtheria is diphtherias.
How many letters and syllables are in diphtheria?
| Letters | 10: D-I-P-H-T-H-E-R-I-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 44,209th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is diphtheria?
Diphtheria appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,209th 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 diphtheria?
- UK /dɪfˈθɪə.ɹi.ə/
- US /dɪfˈθɪɹ.i.ə/
Diphtheria 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)-Wodencafe-diphtheria.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with diphtheria?
5 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as diphtheria from its last stressed vowel (/ɪɹiə/):
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 diphtheria
- diphtherias plural
- diptheria
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does diphtheria mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A serious infectious disease leading to inflammation of mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract, caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Diphtheria in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense infectious disease of the upper respiratory tract:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | diphtérie |
| German | Diphtherie |
| Portuguese | difteria |
| Spanish | difteria |
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 diphtheria come from?
From French diphtérie (later for a while also spelled diphthérie) in 1857, which was coined in 1855 with the suffix -ie to replace -ite in the previous term diphtérite for the disease because it affects more than one part of the body.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).