glossolalia
glos·so·la·lia/ˌɡlɑsəˈleɪliə/noun
glossolalia is spelled G-L-O-S-S-O-L-A-L-I-A: 11 letters and 4 syllables (glos·so·la·lia). It appears about once in every 27 million words in written English, the 157,761st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, glossolalia means “Speaking a language one does not know, or speaking elaborate but apparently meaningless speech, while in a trance-like state (or, supposedly, under…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of glossolalia is glossolalias.
How many letters and syllables are in glossolalia?
| Letters | 11: G-L-O-S-S-O-L-A-L-I-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: glos·so·la·lia |
| In writing | about once in every 27 million words; the 157,761st 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; 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 glossolalia?
Glossolalia appears about once in every 27 million words in written English, the 157,761st 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 glossolalia?
- UK /ˌɡlɒsəˈleɪliə/
- US /ˌɡlɑsəˈleɪliə/
Glossolalia has 4 syllables, split glos·so·la·lia in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-glossolalia.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with glossolalia?
6 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as glossolalia from its last stressed vowel (/eɪliə/):
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 glossolalia
- glossolalias plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does glossolalia mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Speaking a language one does not know, or speaking elaborate but apparently meaningless speech, while in a trance-like state (or, supposedly, under the influence of a deity or spirits); speaking in tongues.
- 2
Synonym of xenoglossy (“knowledge of a language one has never learned”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Glossolalia in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense speaking in tongues:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | glossolalie |
| German | Zungenreden, Zungenrede, Glossolalie, Glottolalie, Glossolalieren |
| Portuguese | glossolalia |
| Spanish | glosolalia |
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 glossolalia come from?
From glosso- + -lalia, from Ancient Greek γλῶσσᾰ (glôssă, “tongue; language”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *glōgʰs) + λᾰλῐᾱ́ (lălĭā́, “talking; form of speech, dialect”) (from λᾰ́λος (lắlos, “talkative”) + -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā, suffix forming feminine abstract nouns)).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).