etiquette
/ˈɛt.ɪˌkɛt/noun
etiquette is spelled E-T-I-Q-U-E-T-T-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,122nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, etiquette means “The manners or decent behaviour to be observed in social or professional life; conventional decorum; the ceremonial code of polite society” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of etiquette is etiquettes or étiquettes.
How many letters and syllables are in etiquette?
| Letters | 9: E-T-I-Q-U-E-T-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.5 times per million words; the 17,122nd 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 etiquette?
Etiquette appears 2.5 times per million words in written English, the 17,122nd 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 etiquette?
- /ˈɛt.ɪˌkɛt/
- /ˈɛt.ɪ.kɪt/
- /ˌɛt.ɪˈkɛt/
Etiquette 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-etiquette.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of etiquette
- etiquettes plural
- étiquette
- étiquettes plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does etiquette mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The manners or decent behaviour to be observed in social or professional life; conventional decorum; the ceremonial code of polite society.
20 May 2018, Hadley Freeman in The Guardian, Is Meghan Markle the American the royals have needed all along? Much shock was expressed in the British press about the Palace’s utter failure to control the Markles and the Markles’ lack of etiq
- 2
The customary behavior of members of a profession, business, law, or sports team towards each other.
- 3
A label used to indicate that a letter is to be sent by airmail.
noun
- 1
Alternative spelling of etiquette.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Etiquette in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | étiquette |
| German | Etikette |
| Portuguese | etiqueta |
| Spanish | etiqueta, reglas de etiqueta , normas de etiqueta |
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 etiquette come from?
1740, from French étiquette (“property, a little piece of paper, or a mark or title, affixed to a bag or bundle, expressing its contents, a label, ticket”), from Middle French estiquette (“ticket, memorandum”), from the Old French verb estechier, estichier, estequier (“to attach, stick”), (compare Picard estiquier (“to stick, pierce”)), from Frankish *stekan, *stikkjan (“to stick, pierce, sting”), from Proto-Germanic *stikaną, *stikōną, *staikijaną (“to be sharp, pierce, prick”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- (“to be sharp, to stab”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).