iota
/aɪˈoʊtə/noun
iota is spelled I-O-T-A: 4 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,017th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, iota means “The ninth letter of the Greek alphabet (Ι, ι)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of iota is iotas.
How many letters and syllables are in iota?
| Letters | 4: I-O-T-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 30,017th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is iota?
Iota appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,017th 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 iota?
- UK /aɪˈəʊtə/
- US /aɪˈoʊtə/
Iota has 3 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-iota.ogg, En-au-iota.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with iota?
6 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as iota from its last stressed vowel (/oʊtə/):
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 iota
- iotas plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does iota mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The ninth letter of the Greek alphabet (Ι, ι).
As a Greek numeral, iota represents ten.
- 2
The Latin letter Ɩ (minuscule: ɩ).
- 3
A jot; a very small, insignificant quantity.
noun
- 1
A bank account that earns interest and pays it to a third party, generally a charity; the principal is typically being held in escrow by the accountholder.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Iota 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 iota come from?
From Ancient Greek ἰῶτα (iôta), ultimately from Proto-Semitic *yad- (“hand”). Doublet of jot and yodh. Sense “jot, small quantity” in reference to a phrase in the New Testament: ”one iote or one title, shall in no wise passe from the law”, iota being the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).