ortolan
/ˈɔɹ.tə.læn/noun
ortolan is spelled O-R-T-O-L-A-N: 7 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 22 million words in written English, the 141,699th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, ortolan means “A small European migratory bunting (Emberiza hortulana), once eaten whole as a delicacy” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of ortolan is ortolans.
How many letters and syllables are in ortolan?
| Letters | 7: O-R-T-O-L-A-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 22 million words; the 141,699th 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 ortolan?
Ortolan appears about once in every 22 million words in written English, the 141,699th 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 ortolan?
- UK /ˈɔː.təl.ən/
- UK /ˈɔː.təl.æn/
- US /ˈɔɹ.tə.læn/
Ortolan 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-ortolan.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of ortolan
- ortolans plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ortolan mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A small European migratory bunting (Emberiza hortulana), once eaten whole as a delicacy.
- 2
USAny of various similar birds, especially the bobolink, sora, or snow bunting.
- 3
The greater short-toed lark (Calandrella brachydactyla).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ortolan in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a small bird eaten as a delicacy:
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 ortolan come from?
From Middle French hortolan (“gardener”), from Latin hortulānus (“gardener”). Doublet of hortulan.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).