ornithopter
/ˈɔɹ.nɪˌθɑp.tɚ/noun
ornithopter is spelled O-R-N-I-T-H-O-P-T-E-R: 11 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 34 million words in written English, the 178,202nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, ornithopter means “An aircraft that generates lift through the flapping of its wings” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of ornithopter is ornithopters.
How many letters and syllables are in ornithopter?
| Letters | 11: O-R-N-I-T-H-O-P-T-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 34 million words; the 178,202nd 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 ornithopter?
Ornithopter appears about once in every 34 million words in written English, the 178,202nd 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 ornithopter?
- UK /ˈɔː.nɪˌθɒp.tə/
- US /ˈɔɹ.nɪˌθɑp.tɚ/
Ornithopter has 4 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-ornithopter.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of ornithopter
- ornithopters plural
- orthopter
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ornithopter mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An aircraft that generates lift through the flapping of its wings.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ornithopter in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense aircraft that flaps its wings:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | ornithoptère |
| German | Ornithopter, Schlagflügelflugzeug, Schlagflügelapparat |
| Portuguese | ornitóptero |
| Spanish | ornitóptero |
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 ornithopter come from?
From French ornithoptère, from Ancient Greek ὄρνιθ- (órnith-) + πτερόν (pterón, “wing”), equivalent to ornitho- + -pter.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).