elegant
el·e·gant/ˈɛləɡənt/adjective, noun
elegant is spelled E-L-E-G-A-N-T: 7 letters and 3 syllables (el·e·gant). It appears 8.9 times per million words in written English, the 7,672nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, elegant means “Characterised by or exhibiting elegance; having grace, refinement, or tasteful simplicity” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in elegant?
| Letters | 7: E-L-E-G-A-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: el·e·gant |
| In writing | 8.9 times per million words; the 7,672nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is elegant?
Elegant appears 8.9 times per million words in written English, the 7,672nd 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 elegant?
- US /ˈɛləɡənt/
- Australia /ˈeləɡənt/
Elegant has 3 syllables, split el·e·gant in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-elegant.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of elegant
- more elegant comparative
- most elegant superlative
- elegants plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does elegant mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Characterised by or exhibiting elegance; having grace, refinement, or tasteful simplicity.
- 2
Characterised by minimalism and intuitiveness while preserving exactness and precision.
an elegant solution
- 3
IrelandarchaiccolloquialFine; doing well.
noun
- 1
An elegant parrot.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Elegant in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense exhibiting elegance:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | élégant |
| German | elegant, schick |
| Portuguese | elegante |
| Spanish | elegante, chic, paltón, picudo, glaxo |
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 elegant come from?
From Late Middle English elegaunt, from Middle French elegant, ultimately from Latin ēlegāns, collateral form of present participle of ēligere, from ex- (“out of, from”) + legō (“choose, select, appoint”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).