edifice
/ˈɛd.ɪ.fɪs/noun
edifice is spelled E-D-I-F-I-C-E: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,549th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, edifice means “A building; a structure; an architectural fabric, especially a large and spectacular one” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of edifice is edifices.
How many letters and syllables are in edifice?
| Letters | 7: E-D-I-F-I-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 31,549th 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 edifice?
Edifice appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 31,549th 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 edifice?
- US /ˈɛd.ɪ.fɪs/
Edifice 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: En-us-edifice.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of edifice
- edifices plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does edifice mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A building; a structure; an architectural fabric, especially a large and spectacular one.
- 2
An abstract structure, such as a school of thought, an argument, a theoretical position, etc.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Edifice in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | édifice , école de pensée |
| German | Bauwerk, Gebäude , Lehrgebäude, Gedankengebäude |
| Portuguese | edifício, prédio , escola |
| Spanish | edificio |
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 edifice come from?
From Middle English edifice, from Old French edifice, a classical borrowing of Latin aedificium (“building”), derived from aedificāre (“to build, establish”) (whence also English edify).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).