lamplighter
/ˈlæmpˌlaɪ.tə(ɹ)/noun
lamplighter is spelled L-A-M-P-L-I-G-H-T-E-R: 11 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 17 million words in written English, the 122,704th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, lamplighter means “A person employed to light streetlights at dusk and snuff them at dawn” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of lamplighter is lamplighters.
How many letters and syllables are in lamplighter?
| Letters | 11: L-A-M-P-L-I-G-H-T-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 17 million words; the 122,704th 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 lamplighter?
Lamplighter appears about once in every 17 million words in written English, the 122,704th 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 lamplighter?
- UK /ˈlæmpˌlaɪ.tə(ɹ)/
Lamplighter 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 lamplighter
- lamplighters plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lamplighter mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A person employed to light streetlights at dusk and snuff them at dawn.
- 2
Any device or contrivance for lighting lamps, such as a length of paper to be set alight at one end.
- 3
A kind of tall bicycle.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lamplighter in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a person employed to light streetlights:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Laternenanzünder |
| Spanish | farolero |
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 lamplighter come from?
From lamp + lighter.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).