infirmary
/ɪnˈfɝməɹi/noun
infirmary is spelled I-N-F-I-R-M-A-R-Y: 9 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,537th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, infirmary means “A place where sick or injured people are cared for, especially a small hospital; sickhouse” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of infirmary is infirmaries.
How many letters and syllables are in infirmary?
| Letters | 9: I-N-F-I-R-M-A-R-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.2 times per million words; the 18,537th 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 infirmary?
Infirmary appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,537th 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 infirmary?
- /ɪnˈfɝməɹi/
Infirmary 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-infirmary.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of infirmary
- infirmaries plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does infirmary mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A place where sick or injured people are cared for, especially a small hospital; sickhouse.
- 2
A clinic or dispensary within another institution.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Infirmary in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense place where sick or injured people are cared for, especially a small hospital:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | infirmerie |
| German | Krankenhaus, Krankenstation, Ambulanz |
| Portuguese | enfermaria |
| Spanish | enfermería |
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 infirmary come from?
From Medieval Latin infirmaria, from Latin infirmus.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).