pericarp
pe·ri·carp/ˈpɛɹɪˌkɑɹp/noun
pericarp is spelled P-E-R-I-C-A-R-P: 8 letters and 3 syllables (pe·ri·carp). It appears about once in every 22 million words in written English, the 143,405th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pericarp means “The outermost layer, or skin, of a ripe fruit or ovary” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pericarp is pericarps.
How many letters and syllables are in pericarp?
| Letters | 8: P-E-R-I-C-A-R-P |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: pe·ri·carp |
| In writing | about once in every 22 million words; the 143,405th 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 pericarp?
Pericarp appears about once in every 22 million words in written English, the 143,405th 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 pericarp?
- UK /ˈpɛɹɪˌkɑːp/
- US /ˈpɛɹɪˌkɑɹp/
Pericarp has 3 syllables, split pe·ri·carp in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-pericarp.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of pericarp
- pericarps plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pericarp mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The outermost layer, or skin, of a ripe fruit or ovary.
- 2
rareThe outer layer of anything.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pericarp in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense outermost layer of a ripe fruit or ovary:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | péricarpe |
| German | Perikarp |
| Portuguese | pericarpo |
| Spanish | pericarpio |
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 pericarp come from?
From French péricarpe, from New Latin pericarpium, from Ancient Greek περικάρπιον (perikárpion, “pod, husk, shell”), from περι- (peri-, “around”) + καρπός (karpós, “fruit”). By surface analysis, peri- + -carp.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).