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interregnum

in·ter·reg·num/ˌɪntəɹˈɹɛɡnəm/noun

interregnum is spelled I-N-T-E-R-R-E-G-N-U-M: 11 letters and 4 syllables (in·ter·reg·num). It appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 74,122nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, interregnum means “A period of time between the end of one monarch's reign and the accession of their successor” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of interregnum is interregnums or interregna.

How many letters and syllables are in interregnum?

Letters11: I-N-T-E-R-R-E-G-N-U-M
Syllables4: in·ter·reg·num
In writingabout once in every 6 million words; the 74,122nd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone 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 interregnum?

Interregnum appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 74,122nd 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 interregnum?

  • UK /ɪntəˈɹɛɡnəm/
  • US /ˌɪntəɹˈɹɛɡnəm/
  • UK /ɪntəˈɹɛɡnə/

Interregnum has 4 syllables, split in·ter·reg·num in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-interregnum.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-interregnum.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with interregnum?

One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as interregnum from its last stressed vowel (/ɛɡnəm/):

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 interregnum

  • interregnums plural
  • interregna plural

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does interregnum mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A period of time between the end of one monarch's reign and the accession of their successor.

    The Sasanian Interregnum of 628–632

  2. 2

    A break in continuity; a gap, an intermission.

  3. 3

    A period of time between when a minister or pastor leaves a church and when a new one is installed.

  4. 4

    A period of time between the end of one political leader's term and the start of the term of their successor; a period of time during which normal executive leadership is interrupted or suspended, and a polity is either left without leadership or has only a temporary one.

  5. 5

    obsoleteA temporary exercise of authority or rule during a period of time when there is no monarch or political leader.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Interregnum in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchinterrègne (period of time between the end of one monarch’s…)
GermanInterregnum (period of time between the end of one monarch’s…), Pause, Unterbrechung (break in continuity – see also gap, intermission)
Portugueseinterregno (period of time between the end of one monarch’s…)
Spanishinterregno (period of time between the end of one monarch’s…)

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 interregnum come from?

Learned borrowing from Latin interrēgnum, from inter- (prefix meaning ‘between’) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér (“between”)) + rēgnum (“reign; royal power”) (nominalized from the neuter of *rēgnus, from rēx (“king; ruler”, oblique stem rēg-) + -nus (suffix forming adjectives), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃reǵ- (“to righten; to straighten”)). The plural form interregna is a learned borrowing from Latin interrēgna.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after interregnum