nostrum
/ˈnɑ.stɹəm/noun
nostrum is spelled N-O-S-T-R-U-M: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 65,913th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, nostrum means “A medicine or remedy in conventional use which has not been proven to have any desirable medical effects” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of nostrum is nostrums or nostra.
How many letters and syllables are in nostrum?
| Letters | 7: N-O-S-T-R-U-M |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 65,913th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is nostrum?
Nostrum appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 65,913th 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 nostrum?
- UK /ˈnɒs.tɹəm/
- US /ˈnɑ.stɹəm/
Nostrum has 2 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-nostrum.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with nostrum?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as nostrum from its last stressed vowel (/ɑstɹəm/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of nostrum
- nostrums plural
- nostra plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does nostrum mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A medicine or remedy in conventional use which has not been proven to have any desirable medical effects.
Near-synonyms: paternoster, patent medicine, snake oil
- 2
An ineffective but favorite remedy for a problem, usually involving political action.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Nostrum in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | poudre de perlimpimpin, remède de bonne femme, orviétan |
| German | Hausmittel , übliches Rezept, altes Rezept |
| Portuguese | panaceia |
| Spanish | remedio milagroso, droga de charlatán |
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 nostrum come from?
Learned borrowing from Latin nostrum (“ours”), nominative neuter of noster (“our, ours”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).