oculus
/ˈɑk.jə.ləs/noun
oculus is spelled O-C-U-L-U-S: 6 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,651st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, oculus means “The central boss of a volute” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of oculus is oculi.
How many letters and syllables are in oculus?
| Letters | 6: O-C-U-L-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.5 times per million words; the 22,651st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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 oculus?
Oculus appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 22,651st 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 oculus?
- UK /ˈɒk.jʊ.ləs/
- US /ˈɑk.jə.ləs/
Oculus has 3 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-oculus.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of oculus
- oculi plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does oculus mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The central boss of a volute.
- 2
An opening at the apex of a dome.
One can glimpse the sky through the oculus of the Pantheon in Rome.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Oculus in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense circular window or opening:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | œil-de-bœuf |
| German | Oculus, Ochsenauge, Rundfenster |
| Spanish | óculo |
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 oculus come from?
Learned borrowing from Latin oculus (“eye”). Doublet of occhio.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).