heather
heath·er/ˈhɛðɚ/noun, adjective
heather is spelled H-E-A-T-H-E-R: 7 letters and 2 syllables (heath·er). It appears 7.4 times per million words in written English, the 8,669th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Heather, the name). As a noun, heather means “An evergreen plant, Calluna vulgaris, with spiky leaves and small purple, pink, or white flowers” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of heather is heathers.
How many letters and syllables are in heather?
| Letters | 7: H-E-A-T-H-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: heath·er |
| In writing | 7.4 times per million words; the 8,669th 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 heather?
Heather appears 7.4 times per million words in written English, the 8,669th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Heather, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce heather?
- UK /ˈhɛðə/
- US /ˈhɛðɚ/
- Australia /ˈheðə/
Heather has 2 syllables, split heath·er in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-heather.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-heather.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with heather?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as heather from its last stressed vowel (/ɛðəɹ/):
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 heather
- heathers plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does heather mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An evergreen plant, Calluna vulgaris, with spiky leaves and small purple, pink, or white flowers.
- 2
A plant in the family Ericaceae.
- 3
Various species of the genus Erica.
- 4
Various species of the genus Cassiope.
- 5
A purple colour with a tint of pink and blue.
- 6
The use of interwoven yarns of mixed colours to produce flecks.
adjective
- 1
Of a purple colour with a tint of pink and blue.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Heather in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | bruyère, callune , éricacée , lilas |
| German | Besenheide, Heidekraut , Heide, Erika |
| Portuguese | urze |
| Spanish | brezo, urce |
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 heather come from?
From Middle English hather, hathir, from Old English *hǣddre and hǣþ (“heather”), cognate with Scots hedder, hadder, heddir (“heather”), Saterland Frisian Heede (“heather”), West Frisian heide (“heather”), Dutch heide (“heather”), German Low German Heide, Heid (“heather”), German Heide (“heather”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).