melissa
mel·is·sa/məˈlɪsə/noun
melissa is spelled M-E-L-I-S-S-A: 7 letters and 3 syllables (mel·is·sa). It appears 6.9 times per million words in written English, the 9,045th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, melissa means “A plant of the genus Melissa, especially lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), often used medicinally” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of melissa is melissas.
How many letters and syllables are in melissa?
| Letters | 7: M-E-L-I-S-S-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: mel·is·sa |
| In writing | 6.9 times per million words; the 9,045th 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; 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 melissa?
Melissa appears 6.9 times per million words in written English, the 9,045th 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 melissa?
- US /məˈlɪsə/
Melissa has 3 syllables, split mel·is·sa in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What rhymes with melissa?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as melissa from its last stressed vowel (/ɪsə/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: aimless.
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 melissa
- melissas plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does melissa mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A plant of the genus Melissa, especially lemon balm (Melissa officinalis), often used medicinally.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Melissa in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense plant of genus Melissa:
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 melissa come from?
From Late Latin melissa, from Ancient Greek μέλισσα (mélissa, “bee”), because the plant attracts bees.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).