flagellum
/fləˈd͡ʒɛləm/noun
flagellum is spelled F-L-A-G-E-L-L-U-M: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 83,271st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, flagellum means “In protists, a long, whiplike membrane-enclosed organelle used for locomotion or feeding” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of flagellum is flagella or flagellums; Wiktionary also lists flagellae (proscribed).
How many letters and syllables are in flagellum?
| Letters | 9: F-L-A-G-E-L-L-U-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 8 million words; the 83,271st 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 flagellum?
Flagellum appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 83,271st 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 flagellum?
- /fləˈd͡ʒɛləm/
Flagellum 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-flagellum.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of flagellum
- flagella plural
- flagellums plural
- flagellae plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does flagellum mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
In protists, a long, whiplike membrane-enclosed organelle used for locomotion or feeding.
- 2
In bacteria, a long, whiplike proteinaceous appendage, used for locomotion.
- 3
A whip.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Flagellum in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense long whiplike organelle:
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 flagellum come from?
From Latin flagellum (“whip”), diminutive of flagrum.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).