grandfathering
/ˈɡɹandfɑːðəɹɪŋ/noun, verb
grandfathering is spelled G-R-A-N-D-F-A-T-H-E-R-I-N-G: 14 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 13 million words in written English, the 107,757th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, grandfathering means “Exemption from new legislation or regulations” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of grandfathering is grandfatherings.
How many letters and syllables are in grandfathering?
| Letters | 14: G-R-A-N-D-F-A-T-H-E-R-I-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 13 million words; the 107,757th 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 grandfathering?
Grandfathering appears about once in every 13 million words in written English, the 107,757th 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 grandfathering?
- UK /ˈɡɹandfɑːðəɹɪŋ/
Grandfathering has 4 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).
Forms of grandfathering
- grandfatherings plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does grandfathering mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Exemption from new legislation or regulations.
verb
- 1
present participle and gerund of grandfather
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does grandfathering come from?
See grandfather.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).