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minion

min·ion/ˈmɪnjən/noun

minion is spelled M-I-N-I-O-N: 6 letters and 2 syllables (min·ion). It appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,150th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, minion means “A loyal servant of another, usually a more powerful being” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of minion is minions.

How many letters and syllables are in minion?

Letters6: M-I-N-I-O-N
Syllables2: min·ion
In writing1.1 times per million words; the 27,150th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Sounds like

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 minion?

Minion appears 1.1 times per million words in written English, the 27,150th 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 minion?

  • /ˈmɪnjən/

Minion has 2 syllables, split min·ion in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-minion.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with minion

Sounds like: minyan (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Forms of minion

  • minions plural
  • more minion comparative
  • most minion superlative

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does minion mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A loyal servant of another, usually a more powerful being.

    The archvillain deployed his minions to simultaneously rob every bank in the city.

  2. 2

    A sycophantic follower.

  3. 3

    The size of type between nonpareil and brevier, standardized as 7-point.

  4. 4

    obsoleteA loved one; one highly esteemed and favoured.

  5. 5

    obsoleteAn ancient form of ordnance with a calibre of about three inches.

  6. 6

    obsoleteObsolete form of minium.

adjective

  1. 1

    obsoleteFavoured, beloved; "pet".

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Minion in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchsubalterne, sous-fifre, séide, larbin (loyal servant of another more powerful being), laquais (sycophantic follower), mignone (7-point type)
GermanErgebener, Untergebener, Lakai (loyal servant of another more powerful being), Günstling (sycophantic follower), Kolonel, Colonel (7-point type)
Portuguesefavorito, lacaio (loyal servant of another more powerful being)
Spanishsecuaz, miñón (loyal servant of another more powerful being), miñona, glosilla (7-point type)

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 minion come from?

First use appears c. 1490, from Middle French mignon (“lover, royal favourite, darling”), from Old French mignon (“dainty, pleasing, gentle, kind”), from Frankish *minnju (“love, friendship, affection, memory”), from Proto-Germanic *minjō (“affectionate thought, care”), from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to think”). Doublet of mignon.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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