herse
/hɜɹs/noun, verb
herse is spelled H-E-R-S-E: 5 letters. It appears about once in every 33 million words in written English, the 176,009th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, herse means “A kind of gate or portcullis, having iron bars, like a harrow, studded with iron spikes, hung above gateways so that it may be quickly lowered to…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of herse is herses.
How many letters and syllables are in herse?
| Letters | 5: H-E-R-S-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 33 million words; the 176,009th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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 herse?
Herse appears about once in every 33 million words in written English, the 176,009th 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 herse?
- UK /hɜːs/
- US /hɜɹs/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-I_learned_some_phrases-hearse.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with herse
Sounds like: hearse (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with herse?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as herse from its last stressed vowel (/ɜɹs/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: sheer.
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 herse
- herses plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- hersing participle, present
- hersed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does herse mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A kind of gate or portcullis, having iron bars, like a harrow, studded with iron spikes, hung above gateways so that it may be quickly lowered to impede the advance of an enemy.
- 2
obsoleteObsolete form of hearse (“a carriage for the dead”).
- 3
obsoleteA funeral ceremony.
verb
- 1
Alternative form of hearse.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does herse come from?
From Middle English hierche (“type of harrow”), from Middle French herce, herse. Doublet of hearse.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).