ostracon
os·tra·con/ˈɑstɹəˌkɑn/noun
ostracon is spelled O-S-T-R-A-C-O-N: 8 letters and 3 syllables (os·tra·con). It appears about once in every 85 million words in written English, the 293,966th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, ostracon means “A piece of pottery or stone, usually broken off from a vase or other earthenware vessel, especially one used to cast a vote during the Ancient Greek…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of ostracon is ostraca.
How many letters and syllables are in ostracon?
| Letters | 8: O-S-T-R-A-C-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: os·tra·con |
| In writing | about once in every 85 million words; the 293,966th 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 ostracon?
Ostracon appears about once in every 85 million words in written English, the 293,966th 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 ostracon?
- UK /ˈɒstɹəˌkɒn/
- US /ˈɑstɹəˌkɑn/
Ostracon has 3 syllables, split os·tra·con in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Eleanorrrrrrrrrr-Ostracon.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of ostracon
- ostraca plural
- ostrakon
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ostracon mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A piece of pottery or stone, usually broken off from a vase or other earthenware vessel, especially one used to cast a vote during the Ancient Greek process of ostracism.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does ostracon come from?
Borrowed from Ancient Greek ὄστρακον (óstrakon).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).