geminate
/ˈd͡ʒɛmɪnət/adjective, verb, noun
geminate is spelled G-E-M-I-N-A-T-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 19 million words in written English, the 131,834th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, geminate means “Forming a pair” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in geminate?
| Letters | 8: G-E-M-I-N-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 19 million words; the 131,834th 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 geminate?
Geminate appears about once in every 19 million words in written English, the 131,834th 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 geminate?
- US /ˈd͡ʒɛmɪnət/
As a verb (“To arrange in pairs”): /ˈd͡ʒɛmɪneɪt/.
Geminate 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-geminate_(adj).wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-geminate_(verb).wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of geminate
- geminates present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- geminating participle, present
- geminated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does geminate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Forming a pair.
Near-synonyms: paired, doubled, twinned
- 2
Pronounced longer and considered as being doubled.
verb
- 1
To arrange in pairs.
- 2
To occur in pairs.
noun
- 1
A doubled or repeated letter or speech sound.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Geminate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | gémine , géminée |
| Spanish | geminado |
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 geminate come from?
First attested in 1589; borrowed from Latin geminātus, perfect passive participle of geminō (“to double”), see -ate (etymology 1,2 and 3).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).