hymeneal
/hʌɪməˈniːəl/adjective, noun
hymeneal is spelled H-Y-M-E-N-E-A-L: 8 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 87 million words in written English, the 297,763rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, hymeneal means “Pertaining to marriage” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in hymeneal?
| Letters | 8: H-Y-M-E-N-E-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 87 million words; the 297,763rd 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 hymeneal?
Hymeneal appears about once in every 87 million words in written English, the 297,763rd 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 hymeneal?
- UK /hʌɪməˈniːəl/
Hymeneal 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). Recordings: En-us-hymeneal.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of hymeneal
- more hymeneal comparative
- most hymeneal superlative
- hymeneals plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hymeneal mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Pertaining to marriage.
It seems to me that girls ought to be early taught to discriminate, between the characteristic of a hymeneal connexion and of a dishonourable one apparently resembling it.
- 2
Pertaining to sexual relations.
- 3
Of or pertaining to the hymen.
noun
- 1
A hymn, song or poem in honour of a wedding.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hymeneal in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
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 hymeneal come from?
From Latin hymenaeus (from Ancient Greek ὑμεναῖος (humenaîos, “matrimonial”)) + -al. Compare hymen.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).