helmsman
/ˈhɛlmz.mən/noun
helmsman is spelled H-E-L-M-S-M-A-N: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,337th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, helmsman means “A member of a ship's crew who is responsible for steering” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of helmsman is helmsmen.
How many letters and syllables are in helmsman?
| Letters | 8: H-E-L-M-S-M-A-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 52,337th 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 helmsman?
Helmsman appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 52,337th 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 helmsman?
- /ˈhɛlmz.mən/
Helmsman 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). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Usmaan_(Middle_river_exports)-helmsman.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of helmsman
- helmsmen plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does helmsman mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A member of a ship's crew who is responsible for steering.
- 2
A leader.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Helmsman in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense person responsible for steering a ship:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | barreur, timonier |
| German | Steuermann, Rudergänger |
| Portuguese | timoneiro |
| Spanish | timonel, timonero |
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 helmsman come from?
From helm + -s- + man.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).