Muslim
/ˈmɐz.ləm/noun, adjective
Muslim is spelled M-U-S-L-I-M: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 47 times per million words in written English, the 2,153rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, Muslim means “An adherent of Islam” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of Muslim is Muslims.
How many letters and syllables are in Muslim?
| Letters | 6: M-U-S-L-I-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 47 times per million words; the 2,153rd 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 Muslim?
Muslim appears 47 times per million words in written English, the 2,153rd 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 Muslim?
- UK /ˈmʊz.lɪm/
- /ˈmʉz.lɪm/
- US /ˈmɐz.ləm/
Muslim 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-uk-Muslim.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of Muslim
- Muslims plural
- more Muslim comparative
- most Muslim superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does Muslim mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An adherent of Islam.
- 2
A person who internalizes the Islamic cultural tradition, or way of thinking, as a frame of reference.
- 3
A member of a predominantly Muslim South Slavic ethnic group (usually a Bosniak), irrespective of actual religious beliefs (used historically in Yugoslavia but persisting to some degree in some former Yugoslav states).
adjective
- 1
Being or relating to a believer of Islam.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Muslim in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense believer of Islam:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | musulman, musulmane |
| German | Muslim, Moslem, Mohammedaner, Muselmane, Muslimin, Muslima |
| Portuguese | muçulmano, muçulmana |
| Spanish | musulmán, musulmana, muslim, moro, muslime, mahometano |
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 Muslim come from?
Borrowed around 1615 from Arabic مُسْلِم (muslim, “one who submits”), the active participle of أَسْلَمَ (ʔaslama, “he submitted”), verb form IV from the triliteral root س ل م (s l m), "to be whole, intact". The verbal noun إسْلام (ʔislām) means literally "submission". In a religious sense, الْإِسْلَام (al-ʔislām) translates to "faith, piety", and مُسْلِم (muslim) to "one who has (religious) faith or piety".
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).