medlar
/ˈmɛdlɚ/noun
medlar is spelled M-E-D-L-A-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 26 million words in written English, the 155,937th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, medlar means “Mespilus germanica, common medlar (now often Crataegus germanica)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of medlar is medlars.
How many letters and syllables are in medlar?
| Letters | 6: M-E-D-L-A-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 26 million words; the 155,937th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| 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 medlar?
Medlar appears about once in every 26 million words in written English, the 155,937th 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 medlar?
- UK /ˈmɛdlə/
- US /ˈmɛdlɚ/
- /ˈmedlɘ/
Medlar 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: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-medlar.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with medlar
Sounds like: meddler (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with medlar?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as medlar from its last stressed vowel (/ɛdləɹ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: dermal, marled.
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 medlar
- medlars plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does medlar mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Mespilus germanica, common medlar (now often Crataegus germanica).
- 2
Any tree of the genus Mespilus, now Crataegus sect. Mespilus, including many species now in other genera.
- 3
Stern's medlar (Crataegus × canescens: family Rosaceae).
- 4
Mediterranean medlar or azarole (Crataegus azarolus: family Rosaceae).
- 5
Japanese medlar or loquat (Eriobotrya japonica: family Rosaceae).
- 6
Spanish medlar or bulletwood (Mimusops elengi: family Sapotaceae).
- 7
African medlar (Vangueria infausta: family Rubiaceae).
- 8
Wolfberry, goji, red medlar (Lycium spp.).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Medlar in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | néflier , nèfle |
| German | Mispel |
| Portuguese | nespereira , nêspera |
| Spanish | níspero (europeo), níspero |
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 medlar come from?
From Middle English medler, medeler, from Old French medler, meslier, from medle, mesdle (“medlar fruit”), from Latin mespilum, from Ancient Greek μέσπιλον (méspilon). Related to the rare mesple, via Proto-West Germanic *mespilā. Displaced Old English openærs (“open-arse”) (and similar names, from anatomical comparison).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).