macron
ma·cron/ˈmeɪkɹɑn/noun
macron is spelled M-A-C-R-O-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables (ma·cron). It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,789th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, macron means “A short, straight, horizontal diacritical mark (◌̄) placed over a letter, usually to indicate that the pronunciation of a vowel is long” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of macron is macrons; Wiktionary also lists macra (rare).
How many letters and syllables are in macron?
| Letters | 6: M-A-C-R-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: ma·cron |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 30,789th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is macron?
Macron appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 30,789th 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 macron?
- UK /ˈmækɹɒn/
- UK /ˈmeɪkɹɒn/
- US /ˈmeɪkɹɑn/
Macron has 2 syllables, split ma·cron in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-macron.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of macron
- macrons plural
- macra plural, rare
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does macron mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A short, straight, horizontal diacritical mark (◌̄) placed over a letter, usually to indicate that the pronunciation of a vowel is long.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Macron in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense short, straight, horizontal diacritical mark:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | macron |
| German | Längenstrich, Längestrich, Makron, Verlängerungszeichen |
| Portuguese | mácron, macro |
| Spanish | macrón |
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 macron come from?
From Ancient Greek μακρόν (makrón), neuter form of μακρός (makrós, “long”) (English macro-).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).