mermaid
/ˈmɝ.meɪd/noun
mermaid is spelled M-E-R-M-A-I-D: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.0 times per million words in written English, the 15,613th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, mermaid means “A mythological creature with a woman's head and upper body, and a tail of a fish” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of mermaid is mermaids.
How many letters and syllables are in mermaid?
| Letters | 7: M-E-R-M-A-I-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.0 times per million words; the 15,613th 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 mermaid?
Mermaid appears 3.0 times per million words in written English, the 15,613th 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 mermaid?
- UK /ˈmɜːˌmeɪd/
- US /ˈmɝ.meɪd/
Mermaid 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: En-us-mermaid.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of mermaid
- mermaids plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does mermaid mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A mythological creature with a woman's head and upper body, and a tail of a fish.
- 2
Coloured a brilliant turquoise.
a mermaid smoothie
- 3
obsoleteA prostitute.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Mermaid in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense mythological woman with a fish’s tail:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sirène |
| German | Nixe, Wassernixe, Seejungfrau, Meerjungfrau |
| Portuguese | sereia |
| Spanish | bicha, bestión |
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 mermaid come from?
From Middle English mermayde (“maid of the sea”), from mere (“sea, lake”) + maid, equivalent to mer- + maid. Cognate with Dutch meermeid (“mermaid”), Middle High German mermaget, mermeit (“mermaid”, > German Meermagd, Meermädchen (“mermaid”)). Compare Old English meremenn, meremennen, meremenin (“mermaid, siren”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).