kittiwake
noun
kittiwake is spelled K-I-T-T-I-W-A-K-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 21 million words in written English, the 138,319th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, kittiwake means “Either of two small gulls in the genus Rissa of the family Laridae that nest in colonies on sea cliffs and spend the winter on the open ocean” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of kittiwake is kittiwakes.
How many letters and syllables are in kittiwake?
| Letters | 9: K-I-T-T-I-W-A-K-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 21 million words; the 138,319th 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 kittiwake?
Kittiwake appears about once in every 21 million words in written English, the 138,319th 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 kittiwake?
Kittiwake 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).
Forms of kittiwake
- kittiwakes plural
- kittiewake
- kittywake
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does kittiwake mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Either of two small gulls in the genus Rissa of the family Laridae that nest in colonies on sea cliffs and spend the winter on the open ocean.
- 2
IrelandUKthe black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), no other kittiwake being found in Europe.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Kittiwake in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense kittiwake:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Dreizehenmöwe |
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 kittiwake come from?
Originally Scots, imitative of the bird's call.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).