polynya
po·lyn·ya/pəˈlɪnjə/noun
polynya is spelled P-O-L-Y-N-Y-A: 7 letters and 3 syllables (po·lyn·ya). It appears about once in every 60 million words in written English, the 243,301st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, polynya means “A naturally formed transient area of open water surrounded by sea ice, especially in polar or subpolar seas” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of polynya is polynyas; Wiktionary also lists polynyi (rare).
How many letters and syllables are in polynya?
| Letters | 7: P-O-L-Y-N-Y-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: po·lyn·ya |
| In writing | about once in every 60 million words; the 243,301st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is polynya?
Polynya appears about once in every 60 million words in written English, the 243,301st 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 polynya?
- UK /pə(ʊ)ˈlɪnjə/
- US /pəˈlɪnjə/
- US /ˌpɑlənˈjɑ/
Polynya has 3 syllables, split po·lyn·ya in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-polynya.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with polynya?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as polynya from its last stressed vowel (/ɪnjə/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of polynya
- polynyas plural
- polynyi plural, rare
- polyna
- polynia
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does polynya mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A naturally formed transient area of open water surrounded by sea ice, especially in polar or subpolar seas.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Polynya in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense area of open water surrounded by sea ice:
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 polynya come from?
Borrowed from Russian полынья́ (polynʹjá, “polynya”) in the 1850s, from Middle Russian полыньѧ (polynʹja) (att. in 1639), from полыи (polyi, “open from above, uncovered; hollow”), whence also Russian полый (polyj, “hollow”), from Old East Slavic полъ (polŭ, “uncovered”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂- (“flat”). The rare plural form polynyi is borrowed from Russian полыньи́ (polynʹí).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).