moorish
/ˈmɔːɹɪʃ/adjective
moorish is spelled M-O-O-R-I-S-H: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 38,863rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, moorish means “Resembling or characteristic of a moor; abounding in moorland” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in moorish?
| Letters | 7: M-O-O-R-I-S-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 38,863rd 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 moorish?
Moorish appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 38,863rd 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 moorish?
- UK /ˈmɔːɹɪʃ/
Moorish 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)-Vealhurl-Moorish.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of moorish
- more moorish comparative
- most moorish superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does moorish mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
archaicOf ground, soil etc: boggy, marshy.
[G]low-worms, fire-drakes, meteors, ignis fatuus […] with many such that appear in moorish grounds, about churchyards, moist valleys, or where battles have been fought […] .
- 2
Resembling or characteristic of a moor; abounding in moorland.
adjective
- 1
Of or pertaining to the Moors or their culture.
- 2
Of or pertaining to a style of Spanish and Portuguese architecture from the time of the Moors, characterized by the horseshoe arch and ornate, geometric decoration.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Moorish in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense of or pertaining to Moors:
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 moorish come from?
From moor + -ish.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).