encomium
/ɛnˈkoʊ.mɪ.əm/noun
encomium is spelled E-N-C-O-M-I-U-M: 8 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 15 million words in written English, the 117,098th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, encomium means “Warm praise, especially a formal expression of such praise; a tribute” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of encomium is encomiums or encomia.
How many letters and syllables are in encomium?
| Letters | 8: E-N-C-O-M-I-U-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 15 million words; the 117,098th 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 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 encomium?
Encomium appears about once in every 15 million words in written English, the 117,098th 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 encomium?
- UK /ɛŋˈkəʊ.mɪ.əm/
- US /ɛnˈkoʊ.mɪ.əm/
- US /ɪnˈkoʊ.mɪ.əm/
Encomium 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-us-encomium.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with encomium?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as encomium (/oʊmɪəm/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: meconium.
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 encomium
- encomiums plural
- encomia plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does encomium mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Warm praise, especially a formal expression of such praise; a tribute.
I rejoined our people, and expected a reprimand for having forced the enemy without orders; though I had my excuse ready. But here I was mistaken; for I met with nothing but encomiums.
- 2
A general category of oratory.
- 3
A method within rhetorical pedagogy.
- 4
The eighth exercise in the progymnasmata series.
- 5
A genre of literature that included five elements: prologue, birth and upbringing, acts of the person's life, comparisons used to praise the subject, and an epilogue.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Encomium in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense tribute:
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 encomium come from?
From Latin encōmium (“praise, eulogy”), from Ancient Greek ἐγκώμιον (enkṓmion, “laudatory ode, praise”), from ἐγκώμιος (enkṓmios, “of or pertaining to the victor”), from κῶμος (kômos, “festival, revel, ode”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).