garda
/ˈɡɑɹdə/noun
garda is spelled G-A-R-D-A: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,504th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, garda means “Alternative letter-case form of Garda” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of garda is gardai or gardaí.
How many letters and syllables are in garda?
| Letters | 5: G-A-R-D-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 34,504th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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 garda?
Garda appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 34,504th 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 garda?
- US /ˈɡɑɹdə/
- UK /ˈɡɑːdə/
Garda has 2 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).
What rhymes with garda?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as garda from its last stressed vowel (/ɑɹdə/):
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 garda
- gardai plural
- gardaí plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does garda mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
IrelandAlternative letter-case form of Garda.
noun
- 1
A member of the Gardaí: an Irish national police officer
Garda Michael Egan
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does garda come from?
From Irish Garda (“guardian”), from Irish Garda Síochána (“Guardian of the Peace”) and Garda Síochána na hÉireann (“Guardian of the Peace of Ireland”) after the model of the French Third Republic's civilian French gardiens de la paix, from Old French guarde, from guarder (“to guard”), from Frankish *wardēn, from Proto-Germanic *wardāną. Doublet of guard, guardian, and warden.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).