mandamus
man·da·mus/mænˈdeɪməs/noun, verb
mandamus is spelled M-A-N-D-A-M-U-S: 8 letters and 3 syllables (man·da·mus). It appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 93,703rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, mandamus means “A common law prerogative writ that compels a court or government officer to perform mandatory or purely ministerial duties correctly” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of mandamus is mandamuses.
How many letters and syllables are in mandamus?
| Letters | 8: M-A-N-D-A-M-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: man·da·mus |
| In writing | about once in every 10 million words; the 93,703rd 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 mandamus?
Mandamus appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 93,703rd 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 mandamus?
- UK /mænˈdeɪməs/
Mandamus has 3 syllables, split man·da·mus in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-mandamus.opus, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of mandamus
- mandamuses plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- mandamusing participle, present
- mandamused participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does mandamus mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A common law prerogative writ that compels a court or government officer to perform mandatory or purely ministerial duties correctly.
verb
- 1
To serve a writ of this kind upon.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does mandamus come from?
From Latin mandāmus (“we command”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).