laurel
/ˈlɔɹ.əl/noun, verb
laurel is spelled L-A-U-R-E-L: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 4.3 times per million words in written English, the 12,397th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, laurel means “An evergreen shrub of species Laurus nobilis, having aromatic leaves of a lanceolate shape, with clusters of small, yellowish white flowers in their…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of laurel is laurels.
How many letters and syllables are in laurel?
| Letters | 6: L-A-U-R-E-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.3 times per million words; the 12,397th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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 laurel?
Laurel appears 4.3 times per million words in written English, the 12,397th 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 laurel?
- UK /ˈlɒɹ.əl/
- UK /ˈlɔːɹ.əl/
- US /ˈlɔɹ.əl/
Laurel 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: En-us-laurel.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with laurel?
11 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as laurel from its last stressed vowel (/ɔɹəl/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: allure.
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 laurel
- laurels plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- laureling US, participle, present
- laurelling UK, participle, present
- laureled US, participle, past
- laurelled UK, participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does laurel mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An evergreen shrub of species Laurus nobilis, having aromatic leaves of a lanceolate shape, with clusters of small, yellowish white flowers in their axils.
- 2
A crown of laurel.
- 3
Honor, distinction, fame.
to win laurels
- 4
Any plant of the family Lauraceae.
- 5
Any of various plants of other families that resemble laurels.
- 6
An English gold coin made in 1619, and so called because the king's head on it was crowned with laurel.
verb
- 1
To decorate with laurel, especially with a laurel wreath.
- 2
To enwreathe.
- 3
informalTo award top honours to.
noun
- 1
Formerly, a participant aged sixteen or seventeen years old in the Young Women organization of the LDS Church.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Laurel in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | laurier , couronne de laurier, couronne de lauriers , lauriers |
| German | Lorbeer , Lorbeerkranz |
| Portuguese | louro, loureiro , coroa de louros, louros |
| Spanish | laurel , corona de laurel |
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 laurel come from?
Inherited from Middle English laurer, laurel, from Anglo-Norman lorer, from Old French lorier, from Vulgar Latin *laurārius, from Latin laurus (“laurel”). Doublet of loureiro.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).