jackdaw
jack·daw/ˈd͡ʒækˌdɔ/noun
jackdaw is spelled J-A-C-K-D-A-W: 7 letters and 2 syllables (jack·daw). It appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 79,518th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, jackdaw means “A bird of the genus Coloeus, similar in appearance to crows and found within the same family; traditionally associated with church towers and ruins…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of jackdaw is jackdaws.
How many letters and syllables are in jackdaw?
| Letters | 7: J-A-C-K-D-A-W |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: jack·daw |
| In writing | about once in every 7 million words; the 79,518th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is jackdaw?
Jackdaw appears about once in every 7 million words in written English, the 79,518th 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 jackdaw?
- UK /ˈdʒækˌdɔː/
- US /ˈd͡ʒækˌdɔ/
- US /ˈd͡ʒækˌdɑ/
Jackdaw has 2 syllables, split jack·daw in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-jackdaw.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of jackdaw
- jackdaws plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does jackdaw mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A bird of the genus Coloeus, similar in appearance to crows and found within the same family; traditionally associated with church towers and ruins, where it frequently likes to nest.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Jackdaw in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense bird of the genus Coloeus:
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 jackdaw come from?
Compound of jack + daw. The first element, also present in Low German (North Saxon) Jöker (“jackdaw”), may refer either to its characteristic call, often represented as tchak-tchak, maybe influenced by association with the name Jack. The second element means “jackdaw” in itself, from Old English *dāwe, from Proto-West Germanic *dāhwā. Cognate with Old Prussian doacke (“starling”), Latin faccilāre (“the sound or timbre of the thrush”), and German Dohle (“jackdaw”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).