jailer
/ˈd͡ʒeɪlə(ɹ)/noun
jailer is spelled J-A-I-L-E-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 46,473rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, jailer means “One who enforces confinement in a jail or prison” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of jailer is jailers.
How many letters and syllables are in jailer?
| Letters | 6: J-A-I-L-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 46,473rd 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 jailer?
Jailer appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 46,473rd 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 jailer?
- /ˈd͡ʒeɪlə(ɹ)/
Jailer has 2 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-jailer.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of jailer
- jailers plural
- jailor
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does jailer mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
One who enforces confinement in a jail or prison.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Jailer in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense one who guards inmates:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | geôlier, geôlière, gâfe |
| German | Gefängniswärter, Gefängniswärterin, Gefängnisaufseher, Gefängnisaufseherin, Schließer, Schließerin |
| Portuguese | carcereiro, carcereira |
| Spanish | carcelero, carcelera, guardiacárcel, guardacárcel |
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 jailer come from?
Inherited from Middle English gayoler, gayler, jayler, from Old French jaiolier, gaiolier, from jaiole. By surface analysis, jail + -er.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).