lingerie
/ˈlɒndʒəɹi/noun
lingerie is spelled L-I-N-G-E-R-I-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 3.4 times per million words in written English, the 14,307th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, lingerie means “Underwear or nightclothes (typically women's), especially when lacy or designed to be seductive” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of lingerie is lingeries.
How many letters and syllables are in lingerie?
| Letters | 8: L-I-N-G-E-R-I-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.4 times per million words; the 14,307th 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 lingerie?
Lingerie appears 3.4 times per million words in written English, the 14,307th 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 lingerie?
- UK /ˈlɒndʒəɹi/
- UK /ˈlɒndʒəɹeɪ/
- UK /ˈlɒ̃ʒəɹi/
Lingerie 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). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-lingerie.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of lingerie
- lingeries plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lingerie mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Underwear or nightclothes (typically women's), especially when lacy or designed to be seductive.
- 2
datedLinen goods collectively.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lingerie in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense underwear or nightclothes:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | lingerie |
| German | Damenunterwäsche, Dessous, Lingerie, Reizwäsche |
| Portuguese | lingerie, camisola |
| Spanish | ropa blanca, ropa interior, ropa íntima, lencería |
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 lingerie come from?
Borrowed from French lingerie (“linen closet”). The irregular pronunciation is a hyperforeignism; it may derive from the frequent shift of /ɛ̃/ (which is this word's first vowel in standard French) toward /ɑ̃/ or [æ̃] in European French, which also tends to be drifted towards /ɔ̃/.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).