metaphysics
/mɛtəˈfɪzɪks/noun
metaphysics is spelled M-E-T-A-P-H-Y-S-I-C-S: 11 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,092nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, metaphysics means “The branch of philosophy which studies fundamental principles intended to describe or explain all that is, and which are not themselves explained by…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in metaphysics?
| Letters | 11: M-E-T-A-P-H-Y-S-I-C-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.2 times per million words; the 26,092nd 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 metaphysics?
Metaphysics appears 1.2 times per million words in written English, the 26,092nd 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 metaphysics?
- /mɛtəˈfɪzɪks/
Metaphysics has 4 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)-Persent101-metaphysics.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What does metaphysics mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The branch of philosophy which studies fundamental principles intended to describe or explain all that is, and which are not themselves explained by anything more fundamental; the study of first principles; the study of being insofar as it is being (Latin: ens in quantum ens).
Philosophers sometimes say that metaphysics is the study of the ultimate nature of the universe.
- 2
The view or theory of a particular philosopher or school of thinkers concerning the first principles which describe or explain all that is.
The metaphysics of Thomas Aquinas holds that all real beings have both essence and existence.
- 3
The metalogic of physics; the logical framework of physics.
Even other universes should be a result of different physics. Without rules, these universes wouldn't exist, because they will have an undefined, thus impossible, nature. We will never understand or guess all possible forms of physics. That
- 4
Any fundamental principles or rules.
- 5
The study of a supersensual realm or of phenomena which transcend the physical world.
I have a collection of books on metaphysics, covering astral projection, reincarnation, and communication with spirits.
- 6
derogatoryDispleasingly abstruse, complex material on any subject.
This political polemic strikes me as a protracted piece of overwrought, fog-shrouded metaphysics!
- 7
plural of metaphysic
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Metaphysics in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense branch of philosophy that studies first principles:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Metaphysik |
| Portuguese | metafísica |
| Spanish | metafísica |
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 metaphysics come from?
1560s; plural of metaphysic, from Middle English methaphesik, methaphisik, methaphisique, metaphesyk, methafisik, metaphesyk, methephysyk, from Old French metafisique, methaphisique and Medieval Latin metaphysica, methephisica, from Byzantine Greek μεταφυσικά (metaphusiká), from the title of the collection by Aristotle μετὰ τὰ φυσικά (metà tà phusiká, “Following The Natural World”), a collection that comes after (μετά (metá)) Aristotle's collection entitled τὰ φυσικά (tà phusiká, “The Natural World”), from φυσικός (phusikós, “natural”). By surface analysis, meta- + physics.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).